Warning Signs
by Hayling
Summary: The Jinchuuriki have been warned and prepare for the coming war with Akatsuki. Naruto is no exception as Jiraiya enlists aid to train the boy, even if it is from a most unlikely source. Diverges during the timeskip, Naruto x Temari
1. Chapter 1

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: N/A

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 01:**

* * *

"So here we are, Naruto. What do you think?" 

Naruto blinked.

Then once more.

Slowly, very slowly, he craned his neck to stare up at Jiraiya, his hands resting on the straps of a large backpack slung comfortably on his back

"Do you really want me to tell you, ero-sennin?" Naruto drawled.

"Oh come on, brat." Jiraiya frowned and swept his arm in front of him in a grand gesture. "The place isn't that bad."

According to Naruto, however, it was in fact _that_ bad.

The past eighteen months the toad sage had taken him on a trek through the entire land of Fire, parts of the Earth country and now… Apparently… the poorest part of Lightning. The blonde had seen wonderful sights, along with some bad, but this took the proverbial cake.

"You're kidding, right?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Man, even the marshes of Kusa looked better than this dump! At least it smells better!"

"Now you're overreacting." Jiraiya grinned and patted the boy on the shoulder. "Come on, we're going to get settled, and then tomorrow, it's time to meet your new teacher."

All joking aside, the village of Sekitan wasn't too much to look at. It had once had the honour of being the main exporter of coal in the surrounding region. But like the mines, the village had dried up after the third great Shinobi war. It no longer crossed any of the major trade routes, and rather than people arriving and settling, villagers left in the hopes of prospering elsewhere.

The only ones who were still there were either too old, too young, or too damn stubborn to leave.

But, of course, as Naruto was prone to do, he was exaggerating.

While not the particular hub of activity it once had been, Sekitan had reverted into a rather quaint little village. Nothing more than a small centre of shops surrounded by a gaggle of small houses, the excess having been torn down years ago.

Jiraiya, however, led the two of them to an inn on the outskirts of the village.

Unlike Sekitan, it was relatively large, but kept in excellent condition. Positioned at a broad dirt road that held memories of large caravans coming through on a regular basis in need of a place to rest. The Night Swallow Inn stood three stories high, towering above the surrounding blossom trees that stood in neat and orderly rows. A cobbled path through a perfectly kept rock garden led them to the entrance. The rice paper door slid open quietly at Jiraiya's insistence and they were immediately greeted by a weathered feminine voice.

"Welcome to the Night Swallow Inn, honoured guests! Feel free to rest at our fine establishment." The owner, an elderly lady with her grey hair brushed carefully into a large knot at the base of her head and a face that showed a lifetime of joy and sadness in a multitude of wrinkles bid them welcome with a low bow after moving from behind the reception desk. "My name is Kasumi, how may I be of assistance?"

Jiraiya and Naruto bowed in return.

"We'd like to rent a room, if we may, fair lady." Jiraiya winked saucily at the inn-keeper.

Kasumi let out a titter of laughter. "Ah, the great Jiraiya-sama, you always were such a kidder."

"Hehe, you know me too well, Kasumi-chan!" The toad sage let out a loud laugh. "How have you been holding up, business going well?"

Naruto smiled, too used to meeting people of all kinds whom Jiraiya had known at one point or another.

The grey-haired elder smoothed out some imaginary creases in her olive-green kimono. "As well as can be expected, Jiraiya-kun, we're not the thriving village we once were, you know! But more importantly, who is this handsome young man you brought with you?"

Jiraiya laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "This is my apprentice, Uzumaki Naruto."

The blonde bowed again. "Pleased to meet you, Kasumi-baa-san."

"Oho, such manners!" Kasumi smiled broadly, her wrinkled face practically beaming. "A far cry from little Jiraiya when he first came here."

"Only after I had to drill it into him, believe you me."

That statement prompted a pout from Naruto at which Kasumi giggled.

"Don't mind him, my boy. I'm sure you were not quite as bad as Jiraiya when he came here with his team mates and teacher. Why, he and that girl practically tore the place apart!"

"Good times." Jiraiya grinned fondly at that memory.

"Yes, well…" Kasumi coughed and motioned them over to the reception desk.

The two deposited their sandals in a small alcove near the entrance and with several strides, moved across the carefully polished wooden floor boards of the main hall of the inn.

"We'll take a large room, just for the night."

"We have plenty of space available, so that shouldn't be a problem." The owner informed them. "You'll be sharing this place with only a few other visitors. An elderly man, a couple from a nearby village and a young woman." Kasumi glared at Jiraiya at this. "And no peeking this time, Jiraiya-kun. You do remember what Tsunade-chan did when she caught you peeping on me, don't you?"

Despite himself, Jiraiya shivered and let out a nervous chuckle. "O-of course…"

Naruto laughed uproariously as his teacher signed them both in and took the key from the innkeeper, then waved and smiled brightly at Kasumi when Jiraiya dragged him by the scruff of the neck up the stairs to their room, suddenly not quite as keen to remain in the older woman's presence any longer.

* * *

Naruto awoke to the filtered rays of the sun peeking through the room's single large window to caress his whiskered face. 

After camping on the road for the past three weeks, it was nice to finally rest on a proper futon again. The blonde stretched languidly and yawned wildly as he cast aside his thick blanket and rose up to a sitting position.

He yawned again and scratched his neck absently as he focused his bleary gaze on the person, still snoring, beside him.

The two of them had taken to renting two rooms after a month on the road. This due to the fact that Naruto had developed a habit to, not so kindly, kick the toad sage awake whenever he started snoring.

Few things _truly_ annoyed Naruto, but having to hear to the rumbling noise of Jiraiya's bear-like form every time he took a breath right next to him got to the boy after a while.

Arms and legs askew, Jiraiya was still oblivious to the world. And while Naruto would've normally found more than a little joy in waking this particular one of the legendary three in a somewhat uncomfortable way, he didn't quite feel up to the task yet.

Naruto had slept soundly, yes, but he had awoken once during the night, and couldn't shake the feeling he had been spied upon. Something about a pair of odd golden eyes stuck out like a sore thumb. With yet another yawn, Naruto realized he was too tired to really care about it right now, instead he flopped back down again on his back to catch a bit more sleep.

Scarcely an hour later though, Naruto found out Jiraiya didn't quite share his student's compunctions of waking up the other rudely.

"Up and at 'em, brat!" Jiraiya growled, roughly jabbing Naruto in the stomach with his toes as he shook out his wild and unkempt white mane.

"Wuzzit, whu? Wha?!" Naruto bolted awake before glaring at Jiraiya hotly. "What's the big idea, ero-sennin?!" His voice cracked as he screeched several profanities.

"Hah!" Jiraiya let out a booming bark of laughter as he watched the boy's antics. "It's a beautiful day, and we're not going to waste it sleeping. We have things to do, and people to meet!"

* * *

"So who _is_ my new sensei anyway?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed. With Jiraiya, he trusted the old man as far as he could throw him. 

…which in all honesty was pretty far, but that's besides the point.

Naruto had horrible visions of a certain closet-pervert clone droning on and on about the theories of techniques, yet never actually teaching him any.

Not that Jiraiya had yet really either, though. 

"My boy." Jiraiya puffed up his broad chest proudly. "Without a doubt, you'll be pleased."

"Yeah?" Naruto inquired, doubt lacing his voice.

"Of course!" He proclaimed confidently, flashing a roguish grin and winked at Naruto. "But I won't tell you who just yet, that'd just ruin the surprise!"

The blonde wanted to protest, but he noticed that Jiraiya had retreated back into a state he usually only reserved for when he had access to lots of money, alcohol and women of ill repute. Not necessarily in that order.

Which made Naruto doubt his teacher even more.

Not to mention a little bit scared.

He still remembered the last time the older man had tried to convince Naruto in at least trying some of his guilty pleasures.

Crimson crept under Naruto's skin as he reflected back on that occasion. He had only barely been able to stop the black-haired Misami-san from whatever it was Jiraiya had cooked up. Instead they had simply talked all night, and Naruto had gained valuable insight on various subjects he previously had no idea about.

Mainly women. And not the perverted stuff Jiraiya wrote (and talked) about either.

It had been quite refreshing really.

"-won't stay that long, so it's probably best that…" Jiraiya trailed off as he noticed his student hadn't been listening to him. "Oi, Naruto." He grumbled, and lightly bopped the boy on the head.

"Huh?" Naruto swivelled his head quickly, blinking. "What is it?"

Jiraiya harrumphed. "I said you and your teacher won't stay that long, so it's probably best that the two of you just camp out of the village. Your teacher will probably want to test you anyway, and I don't want Kasumi-chan after me if you destroy her property."

Naruto nodded slowly.

"Besides, you'll save on money."

The blonde couldn't help but snort at that, but nodded again all the same. He noticed that while Jiraiya did like to spend some of his money, or Naruto's, on luxuries, he didn't spend it all that brashly.

When asked why, Jiraiya had simply shrugged. And asked in return: "You didn't think that I could build a ring of spies and informants on my good looks alone, did you?"

Naruto's comeback that day had earned him the dubious pleasure of being trained in evasion while his sensei pelted him with razor-edged shuriken.

Still, Naruto figured the real reason the old pervert didn't want to return to the inn had something to do with the memories of how he had suffered at the hands of Tsunade there a long time ago.

Nearly twenty minutes later, however, Naruto's patience was wearing thin. They had trekked from the inn, after eating a quick breakfast and bidding a hasty farewell to the nice old lady who ran the place, to the nearby forest. And while the boy enjoyed the outdoors, he was eager to meet the person Jiraiya obviously held in high regard.

Occasionally teasing was all well and good, but Naruto was no fool. He had yet to meet anyone as strong as Jiraiya and those of his former team.

'Perhaps obaa-chan came here to train me?' Naruto thought hopefully, but immediately squashed that idea. As fond as he was of the fifth Hokage, there was no way that was going to happen, and he very much doubted that Orochimaru would be particularly willing to teach him some techniques either.

That, of course, irritated Naruto further. He didn't want to wait, he wanted to train!

"Ero-sennin, when are we meeting this new sensei anyway?!" He asked, lower lip sticking out petulantly and narrowing his eyes to slits. "I'm tired of waiting!"

"Heh." Jiraiya shook his head before cocking it slightly. "We're already here." He gestured with his outstretched arm to outline the small break in the forest they stepped into. "And so is your teacher, isn't that right, kitten?"

Naruto raised a fist and was about to ask what the pervert was talking about when an echoing voice rang out from seemingly all around them.

"I told you I hate it when you call me that, Jiraiya-sama."

Naruto's hand dropped down and his eyebrows raised as a blur jumped out of the canopy above their heads and landed silently in a crouch before them.

"But I suppose you're incorrigible." The woman stated blandly before rising to her feet and Naruto managed to get his first good look at her.

Her black pants and shirt would could be considered plain if not for the supple grey armour wrapped around her chest and two red clouds on her lower left leg and right breast. Fingerless gloves that covered bandages reaching up to her elbows, simple open toed sandals and a blood red sash tied around her waist finished the simple and practical outfit. She flicked a long thin ponytail wrapped tightly in a long roll of bandages that reached down to her hips over her shoulder and focused her eerily pale blue eyes on Naruto.

Jiraiya smirked as the boy reacted to the new arrival's sudden appearance.

"You! Y-you're from the hidden Cloud!" He shouted as he noted the hitai-ate wrapped securely around her forehead.

Unperturbed, the Kunoichi nodded, lifting her hand to brush a few stray strands of her platinum-blonde hair out of her eyes, and introduced herself. "Hello Naruto, my name is Nii Yugito, and I will be your teacher for the foreseeable future."

* * *

Chapter end. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Marquis Le'Quack

Note: Thank you for the reviews.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 02:**

* * *

A few minutes ago, Naruto had been wondering what in the name of Kami he had been smoking when he accepted Yugito's request to fight and see what he was made of.

Even seeing Sasuke suddenly return to Konoha while wearing a bright pink pair of hot-pants and tank-top, proclaiming that he forgave Itachi for all his sins, would have made more sense. The horrible image had caused Naruto to shake his head fiercely to get rid of it.

Now, the only thing going through Naruto's mind – at this particular moment in time – was his attempt to figure out how the hell Yugito was able to find him in the mass of clones he kept summoning through the Kage Bunshin technique.

She didn't find him right away, but after literally clawing her way through several of them, she simply stopped, focused for a moment, and, without fail, zoned in on his position and beat the living daylights out of him. It wasn't so bad in the beginning of the fight; Yugito had been amazed by the number of clones he was able to create, but as time wore on, her effectiveness in detecting the true Naruto increased.

This was why, he supposed, that he currently found himself sailing through the air before crashing harshly into a tree with his back and let out a groan of pain.

"Oh come on, Naruto, you can do better than that! Get up and get serious!"

Of course, Jiraiya's bout of cheering now and then didn't help matters much either.

"Shut up, ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled, before his eyes widened and managed to create a shadow clone to quickly perform a kawarimi with. This proved to be a prudent course of action as Yugito's razor-sharp nails pierced through the replaced clone's head where his real one would have been a split second later.

It did him little good, though.

"Guh!" He exclaimed, spittle flying from - and blood trickling down the side of - his mouth as he caught a particularly violent kick in the side that sent him skidding across the ground, spewing up dirt haphazardly.

"You're making me look bad here, brat! Stop playing around!"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto bellowed; catching a knee before it sank into his gut and then flipping to his feet backwards when Yugito's fists tried to pummel his chest.

The boy _had_ stopped playing around after he had charged up his first Rasengan ten minutes ago. But the two he made after that one had about the same impact as the first – all three being completely ineffective.

Well, not on Yugito at least – all they served to do explode the trees he landed the technique on – fun sure, but not very helpful.

It didn't matter what he did, the Jounin from the Hidden Cloud managed to counter everything with just taijutsu. Needless to say, this infuriated Naruto greatly. Especially as she never said anything, seemingly content with beating everything aside that the boy could throw at her...

Without any conscious thought, wisps of red chakra began to leak from his body and float around him in a haze. Naruto crossed his fingers in an all too familiar seal.

"Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Dozens… _hundreds_ of clones exploded into existence. They swarmed the immediate section of the forest; crowding the ground, standing on and clinging from branches, anywhere there was enough space, there was a perfect copy of Naruto.

"Now it's my turn!" They chorused; their stances cocky.

Nii Yugito slowly rotated her head to take in the vast amount of Narutos and let a gloved hand hang over the weapon holster strapped to her right thigh. Naruto recognized it all too well from when she had grabbed a kunai to stab him early in the fight.

The real Naruto, hung back on a particular thick branch high above the ground, and grinned as the kumo-nin crouched and tensed. Then she sniffed once… twice… and, much to the boy's shock, honed in on his exact location.

"Shi-!" He managed to utter before she appeared before him and punched him solidly in the stomach. "Grrngh, h-how…?" He groaned, gripping her shirt.

"The scent of your blood from the wounds I gave you, you haven't learned how to pass it on to your clones yet when you summon more." Yugito stated simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Naruto looked incredulous, then grimaced and let out a hacking cough before his world went black.

The clones' faces betrayed the same kind of shock before they disappeared in a massive cloud of smoke.

Yugito lowered her arm from where she had given a quick chop to Naruto's neck and caught the boy as he keeled over. Making sure he was securely in her grasp, she performed a shunshin to appear next to Jiraiya who had a broad grin on his face.

"Not holding back much, were you, kitten?" He laughed as a frowning Yugito carefully laid Naruto on the ground.

"I needed to see what he was capable of, Jiraiya-sama."

"So, what do you think?"

Yugito's frown didn't die down. "He can't control it yet, and I don't doubt the same goes for his gifts."

Jiraiya sighed. "I know, but that's why I contacted you, after all."

The young woman nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose so…"

* * *

When Naruto finally clawed his way back to consciousness, he noticed Jiraiya and Yugito conversing softly near him. The sun was setting rapidly and a bright camp-fire had been erected while he was out.

"Ah, Naruto, I was wondering when you'd be awake." Jiraiya murmured, waving his hand to Yugito absently as he stood up from a large fallen log he and the Cloud-nin had been sitting on, and strode over to the blonde. The Jounin, who had apparently been inquiring something of the sage, scowled when he brushed her off.

Naruto couldn't help but frown as he saw his would-be teacher again.

"Now now, Naruto…" Jiraiya picked up on his student's expression and placated the boy. "Don't be upset that she beat you, she is a very capable ninja after all."

"I know." Naruto said at length and moved to a sitting position. He didn't quite feel up to the task of meeting Yugito's strange eyes, instead focusing on his own balled fists in his lap.

"This was just a test to see what you were capable of." Jiraiya continued.

"Well, I guess now we know, don't we?"

The older man didn't quite like his student's flat tone. "Naruto, you don't really think you've suddenly become as strong as a Jounin in just the span of a year and a half, do you? I thought I drilled some sense into you, boy!"

Yugito watched the interaction between Jiraiya and Naruto with muted interest.

"You've become stronger, without a doubt." The hermit continued on, kneeling beside Naruto. "But you still have a long way to go, never forget that, and try your very best."

The Genin nodded at that and grinned slightly.

"When I see you again, I want to hear nothing but praise from my little kitten over there." Jiraiya laughed and pointed at Yugito over his shoulder, who once again scowled at the mention of her impromptu nickname.

"Jiraiya-sama…" She growled threateningly, at which the sennin only laughed all the louder.

"Oh relax, Yugito-chan." He smirked and patted Naruto on the head before standing up to his full and impressive height. He began brushing down his strange garb and adjusted his one-of-a-kind forehead protector. He returned to the log, grabbed his large backpack which leaned against it, and slung it on his back. Jiraiya sighed and blinked slowly before nodding to Yugito. "I entrust my student to you, Nii Yugito. Take care of him for me."

Yugito stood up as well and bowed low, her long ponytail slipping over her shoulder. "I will, Jiraiya-sama. Please take care during your travels."

Even though he had woken up shortly before, and as tired as he still was, Naruto couldn't help but feel more than a little sad at the thought of Jiraiya leaving.

Jiraiya smiled broadly as he saw Naruto's distress. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'll meet up with you soon; just send Gamakichi to me when you two have figured out where you're going to go." He let out a bark of laughter when his pupil flashed a small smile of his own. "I'm just going to sort out a bit of business. To think you'd miss an old man like me – it's flattering!"

"E-ero-sennin…"

"Catch you later, Naruto, and get stronger." The hermit turned on his feet and walked off into the darkness. "Don't disappoint me now!"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted after him.

"Damn that brat…" Jiraiya blinked away a bit of moisture from his eyes and disappeared from view.

Yugito frowned in his direction for a few moments longer, and then spoke softly to the blonde across the camp-fire. "You really care for him." She stared at Naruto, her tone making it a statement rather than a question.

"Stupid pervy geezer, who cares about him!" The boy objected petulantly and settled on his thin mattress, stomping an imaginary pile flat with his fist before he covered himself with his blanket and turned away from the Cloud-nin. "Probably off to do more _research_ anyway."

Yugito's eyes glinted with the light of flickering flames as she studied the young jinchuuriki. Naruto hid it well, but there was no denying the fond undertone of his words.

"Naruto…" She spoke softly, almost uncertain. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

The teen grumbled a little, but turned on his side to face his new teacher. "What is it?"

"Before we go to sleep, there is something you must know, and the reason Jiraiya-sama asked me to help you."

"Yeah?" Naruto's interest was piqued. He _had_ been wondering why on earth a Jounin from the hidden Cloud was willing to train someone from Konoha of all places. He propped himself up on his elbow and gave her his full attention. "What is it?" He asked again.

"I know about the demon contained in your body." Yugito stated bluntly and watched as a mixture of shock, anger and… _fear_ flitted across the boy's face in rapid succession.

"H-he told you?" Naruto ventured, uncertain of what to say.

Yugito shrugged. "Even if he hadn't, I'd still know."

"Huh?" The younger blonde was taken aback by that. "I-I thought it was a big secret!" He protested, growing wary.

"Hmmph, you'd be surprised at how much villages really know of each other." Yugito couldn't help but grin at the boy's naïveté. "Hopefully you're not one of those ninja's who think everything is about fighting..." She looked at him intently. "Are you?"

"Of course not!" Naruto yelled crossly. "I'm going to become Hokage one day, believe it!"

Yugito was momentarily stunned by the boy's vehemence. Then, slowly, her previous grin died down to an honest smile. "Hokage… huh?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto crowed earnestly, balling his fist and shaking it vigorously. He never got tired of sharing his dream with anyone who'd bother to listen… or those that didn't really want to, as well.

"I'm going to become Hokage, and then everyone will acknowledge me!"

"Hmm, you need a little more work before you can become a Kage, though, Naruto."

The boy nearly face vaulted at that. "I know that!" But then he smiled happily as he noticed that Yugito hadn't necessarily said that he _couldn't_ become one. That was something at least and earned her a few points in his book.

"But that isn't how I know, Naruto." Yugito continued on almost hesitantly.

Naruto remained silent, but narrowed his eyes slightly.

"The reason is because… Like you…" Yugito pointed at her stomach and Naruto knew then exactly what she was going to say. "I have a tailed demon sealed inside me."

Silence settled on the pair like a suffocating blanket, and Naruto opened his mouth several times before snapping it shut. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "R-really?" He stammered.

"That's right." Yugito's pale blue eyes seemed to flicker gold for a split second, and Naruto was sure it had just been a play of light from the flames of the campfire. "Inside of me resides the nibi, the Nekomata."

"And…" Naruto went still before he finally whispered. "You became Jounin?"

"Yes, I did." Yugito cocked her head, wondering why that of all things would seem so important.

She grew slightly worried however when Naruto clenched his fists tightly and almost seemed to… _vibrate_ in place.

"Are you alright?" Yugito asked at length.

"Alright?" Naruto choked. "Of course I'm alright!"

The Kunoichi's eyes widened when the boy leapt up, nearly throwing his blanket into the fire, grinning and raised he arms into the air.

"You made Jounin! That's freaking awesome!" He yelled happily. "If you became Jounin, I'll definitely become Hokage!"

Yugito did the only sensible thing. She slapped her hand over her eyes and shook her head slightly. 'Of all the things…'

Shock, she would have expected. Fear as well. But not a boy that for all appearances seemed to simulate a rabbit doped up on just a few too many soldier pills at the news that a jinchuuriki like her had attained the rank of Jounin.

Yugito watched with mild amusement as Naruto finally ran out of energy to flop back on his thin mattress, still all smiles.

"We'd best get some sleep, Naruto." She suggested. "Tomorrow will be a big day. I have a lot of things I'd like to explain to you and we need to decide where we will be going next."

Yugito watched him nod and shed most of his clothes before crawling under his blanket. She settled in herself, and was fast on her way to the land of slumber when a small voice called out.

"Goodnight, Yugito… sensei…"

"…goodnight, Naruto."

* * *

Naruto awoke with a startled yelp as something poked him in the side harshly. His eyes sprung open and he looked around him franticly. "E-ero-sennin?!" He stammered.

"Rise and shine Naruto."

'Oh…' The boy thought as he remembered the fact that the biggest pervert he had ever met left the night before, leaving Naruto with a ninja from the hidden Cloud - one who would be his teacher no less.

While he still didn't know her all too well, he couldn't help but give her the benefit of the doubt. She was a fellow jinchuuriki - like himself and Gaara. Naruto couldn't help but grow excited as he thought about the possibilities his training might bring as well.

Another poke in the ribs from Yugito awoke him fully and he shifted restlessly, staring at the smiling face hovering over him.

"Good morning." Naruto growled, slightly irritated that Yugito felt the need to awaken him so rudely - early, too.

Yugito nodded. "Good morning, Naruto. I'll have to teach you some basic techniques to improve your sleeping habits, I see."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest that he didn't need it. Besides, Jiraiya wasn't exactly known for getting up quite that early. It was usually Naruto who, with an eternal desire to improve his skills, woke up with enough energy to take on the day.

Though while he was usually the first of the two to get up, that didn't mean he got up at a time most would consider early.

"Uh, yeah… I guess." Naruto mumbled and threw his blanket from his chest. He grumbled continuously as he got up while Yugito got to her feet and tended the camp-fire.

With a sigh he grabbed his clothes. Over the time he had spent with Jiraiya, his orange jumpsuit had been replaced by a black and orange outfit. Even the cloth of his forehead protector had been replaced due to the gruelling conditioning the ever sadistic Jiraiya had put the boy through.

Naruto spared a glance at Yugito who seemed to be grilling several fish on long iron pokers over flames, and then stumbled bleary-eyed into the woods to a nearby stream. By the time he freshened up and returned to camp, the Jounin had prepared a small meal for them to share.

"Eat up, Naruto. You'll need your energy today." She said seriously, and handed the Genin one of the grilled fish on a salad bed. When he sat down, she handed him a cup of rice with chopsticks.

Naruto would have complained about the lack of ramen, but somehow, after the beating he received yesterday, he doubted that his new teacher would take too kindly to it - especially when she had gone through with the effort to prepare some fish for him. For some odd reason he couldn't quite place, a brief flash of warmth pulsed through his stomach. Naruto blamed it on one of the numerous blows he'd received in the gut the day before.

They ate in silence, if you discounted Yugito's cheerful humming as she consumed her fish (actually eating up to a third helping). When she put her own cup, lined with a few stubborn specks of rice, on the ground beside her and the lacquered chopsticks on it with a dull clink, she patted her stomach contently.

"So, Naruto." The kumo-nin began, eyeing the blonde carefully. "From our fight yesterday, I noticed something."

"Mmyeah? Wazza?" Naruto mumbled as he practically inhaled his own rice.

"You're a bit lacking in diversity." She deadpanned.

Naruto blinked, and wiped his mouth. "Huh?"

Yugito scratched the back of her head and smiled uneasily. "Um, not that I doubt that Jiraiya-sama's a great teacher, but… What did he teach you?" Jiraiya had given her a brief rundown the evening before, when Naruto was out, but she thought it best to hear it from the boy directly.

"Uh…" Naruto's eyes turned to slits as he formulated his answer. "Well, mostly it's been about my speed and taijutsu. Other than that… Power, I guess…"

"I… I see." Yugito tried hard not to sound disappointed. "And ninjutsu?"

Naruto grimaced. "Ero-baka hasn't really taught me anything cool!" He folded his arms over his chest and pouted. "I have a summoning contract with toads, but I can't really use it all that well. Not in fights yet anyway. And we took the Rasengan to a new level, but…"

Yugito tapped her chin thoughtfully as she mulled over this information. "Show me."

"Er…"

The nibi jinchuuriki smiled deviously. "Oh come on, don't you want to impress me?"

Naruto jumped up at the challenge, and a clone, a shout, and a new crater a short distance from the camp later, Yugito had to admit, she was impressed.

"Okay, that's pretty impressive." She nodded and peered down the edge of the large hole left behind by the Odama Rasengan. "That's a lot of destructive power."

"Heh heh." Naruto chuckled, lacing his fingers behind his head and tried not to look too pleased. He failed abysmally.

Yugito noticed and scowled. "Don't get complacent. This power doesn't mean anything if you can't hit anyone with it."

Naruto mirrored her features. "Yeah yeah, I know!"

"Well... good." The platinum-blonde turned on her feet and strode back to the camp-fire. She motioned for Naruto to follow her and when they were once again seated, proceeded to pick apart his strengths and flaws carefully.

"Now, like I said, I don't doubt Jiraiya-sama is a great teacher, but I think he shouldn't just focus on training your raw power."

"Bu-"

Yugito held up a hand to silence him. "Let me continue." She cleared her throat. "You've got a good grasp of tactics; I saw that in our fight yesterday. But you're so focused on your clones and Rasengan, you're hardly the number one most surprising shinobi Jiraiya-sama harped on to me about."

"Hey!"

Yugito bulled on. "You're great with your clones, I'll admit. You pulled off some fancy things with them that I wouldn't have thought of that quickly, but… Against the people after the likes of you and me…" She said, referring to the Akatsuki which Naruto knew all too well. "…that really won't matter too much - especially if they have a good nose, like mine." She tapped the aforementioned organ and Naruto nodded, remembering how she had found him with relative ease, despite the amount of clones he had used in their fight. "You still have a few things to learn about Kage Bunshin."

"And that Rasengan – it's very powerful; but it is something that you actually need to hit your opponent with. Not every opponent will be sitting still for you to come at them with that loud, bright spinning ball of death." The Kunoichi took a deep breath. "I don't know who taught you when you were younger than you are now, but your taijutsu is still terrible, and your speed isn't too good either. Relying on the Kyuubi will only get you so far; and with a demon as volatile as yours, it's a very dangerous thing to do."

Yugito interlaced her fingers and furrowed her brow. "I don't know too much about your toad summoning, but I know Jiraiya-sama is a master at it – so I'll leave that particular part of your training to him." She finally stopped with a heavy exhale.

"…" Naruto stared at Yugito for a few long moments, not quite sure what to say.

The Jounin broke the silence and locked eyes with the teen. "For the next few months, we'll focus on your taijutsu and speed, seeing they still need work. We'll do it on the move. Where we go depends on this..." Yugito reached into a pouch of her backpack and took out a small rectangular piece of paper.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"This," Yugito pointed at the scrap of paper, "is a special kind of paper. Shinobi use it to determine what elemental affinity they have."

"Uhm…" Naruto narrowed his eyes as he observed it dubiously. "Okay…"

Yugito smiled as she recognized her own reaction in his. "This chakra paper, it lets you literally see what elemental type you belong to."

"How?" He questioned.

"Simple." She focused on the paper in her hand and poured a little chakra into it. Naruto's eyes widened as he watched the paper crumple up instantly before bursting into flame.

Yugito dropped it and let it burn up completely.

"Whoah!" Naruto exclaimed and leaned forwards eagerly. "So what does that mean, huh? Huh?!"

The Kunoichi grinned. "My paper crumpled up and ignited. That means I have two affinities. Lightning and fire."

"Wow…" The boy breathed in wonder. "That's awesome! Can I try? Can I?"

"Of course!" Yugito fished out another small piece of paper and handed it to Naruto who took it with glee. "Just focus a little amount of chakra into the paper."

Naruto nodded excitedly and unconsciously poked out his tongue from between his lips as he followed his new sensei's instructions.

Within in a second, the paper split in two and the two pieces drooped over, soggy and with moisture dripping from their edges.

"W-what does that mean?" He asked, a little bit disappointed he didn't get something similar to Yugito's result.

"Huh, that's an odd mix." The Kumo-nin rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"What? Why?"

"Well, it seems like you're leaning towards Water and… Wind affinity."

"…" Naruto blinked. "…is that good?"

"Well, like I said, it's an odd mix." Yugito explained. "Last I heard, the only ones who had that… didn't come out of Konoha."

"Where did they come from?" Naruto asked, confused.

Yugito cleared her throat and brushed his question off. "That doesn't matter. Anyway, water users shouldn't be too rare in Konoha, but wind users are. The only place that has a lot of them, relatively speaking anyway…"

"What? What place has a lot of them?"

"It's all in the name, Naruto." Yugito pointed out as if it was obvious – which, with that kind of logic, it was. "The Wind Country."

"Hey!" Naruto's grin threatened to split his face. "That's where Gaara lives!"

"Gaara?" Yugito inquired, although she knew who he was already from what Jiraiya had told her.

"He's like us! I fought him during the Chuunin exam and…"

With that, and to Yugito's amusement, Naruto was off into a lengthy rendition of the events that surrounded the exam, occasionally acting out some of the events with his own shadow clones. Time passed quickly and his story carried well into the better part of the morning.

"…and then, in the end, with the last of my energy, I woke him up with a head butt!" Naruto laughed and did just that to his shadow clone who, with a convincing illusion of the redhead, was pretending to sleep.

Yugito clapped enthusiastically as the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto bowed dramatically to his audience's response, flashing a broad smile.

"But what happened to Gaara after your fight with him?" Yugito frowned as she stopped clapping. "It seems to me he's a little… homicidal…"

"I…I don't really know..." Naruto hesitated, his smile tapering off as he took a seat in front of the young woman. "He was always alone… I'd like to think I got through to him, to show him he didn't have to be the way he was because…" Naruto smiled sadly and grasped his jacket over his stomach. "We're the same you know?"

Yugito nodded thoughtfully. 'Uzumaki Naruto… You're something else.'

"I just hope he's happy, and maybe his brother and sister won't be so afraid of him anymore." The boy added softly.

He looked up when Yugito reached over to ruffle his spiky hair.

"I think, whatever he's doing now, he's happy."

Even as she spoke those words, far to the south west, in a village hidden in a vast and unmerciful desert, events took place that, sadly, proved her wrong.

* * *

Gaara shifted uneasily and sighed in a dark corridor of the Kazekage tower. His movements were so slight however, that anyone who did not know him intimately would have missed it completely.

His sister was one of the few who did notice and couldn't suppress a smile. To see Gaara portray any emotions at all was a small miracle in itself.

The two had just finished attending a meeting with the chairman of the Suna council, and Gaara couldn't help but wonder if he had been elected for the position because he seemed to be the oldest one. His jittery movements and shaky, gravely voice had irked Gaara to no end; and even though these days he kept a tight leash on Shukaku, the redhead could not help but wonder what sound the old man's fragile bones might make if he broke them one by one.

His eyes barely betrayed his thoughts as he calmly spoke to Temari. "You do not have to do this."

"Little brother…" Came her soft reply as she stepped closer to him. "This is your dream, I won't stand in the way of it."

"…" Gaara pondered this response and decided on a course of action. "I could kill them."

Temari's smile grew a little wider, but she adjusted her forehead protector with just a hint of nervousness of the old Gaara shining through. His tone didn't exactly make it a question. At least it was "could" and not "will". Easy and amusing it might have been, slaughtering the entire council of Sunagakure would, in the end, not be very beneficial to Gaara's goals.

She shook her head and chuckled. "No, Gaara."

Gaara stared at her for several heartbeats. "I... I do not understand." He admitted and averted his eyes to look at the ground.

Temari stepped forward and enveloped her arms around the smaller sibling's neck in a gentle hug. "I'm doing this of my own free will." She whispered into his ear. "I'm doing this for you because you are my brother."

Gaara stood silent, but finally after a few long moments, wrapped his own arms around her waist.

He didn't see them, but felt her tears drip down the crook of his neck.

"Thank you, sister…"

* * *

Chapter end. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Marquis Le'Quack

Note: Thank you for the reviews, I really do appreciate them. I hope to receive more, though. If you could spare a moment to drop a review, that would be great.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 03:**

* * *

Naruto frowned as he mulled over the events of the past few days. For months, as he trained with arguably the greatest pervert ever to walk the face of the Elemental Countries, Jiraiya had hinted that he would get someone unusual to teach him; Naruto had never expected it would be a ninja from the Lightning country though.

Oh sure, he knew that there was more to the old toad summoner than just having a penchant for "researching" female anatomy and using that "research" to write his less than proper books. Naruto had learned not to underestimate the pervert; he actually respected him a great deal – even more so than his other perverted teacher, Hatake Kakashi.

Naruto sighed as he thought about how all of his teachers so far seemed to be perverted; and laid down on the grass at the base of a particularly large tree to stare at the blue sky.

Well, Iruka wasn't a lecher; at least not a very big one, in any case… though he did fall to his anti-pervert technique.

Naruto just prayed fervently that Nii Yugito wasn't one: what a nightmare that would be… perhaps something along the lines of that creepy examiner lady – what was her name…?

Ranko…?

No, Anku…?

Ah yeah, Anko… He shivered as he remembered her cutting his cheek and actually _licking_ his blood off of his face.

Naruto followed the path of a few clouds lazily, not unlike a certain Nara would be doing. Then again, the past year and a half had been anything but normal.

His training with Jiraiya had been… eventful, to say the least. The sage was wise, Naruto could tell that much; and even though he didn't always like, or have the patience for, theory, he took Jiraiya's lessons to heart.

Still, it had been somewhat disappointing to find out that the old man wanted more than anything to focus him on power when they actually got to the training part: power that wasn't his – not really.

Naruto had screamed, cried, tried to bribe and ultimately begged for Jiraiya to teach him some jutsu, until finally he had told the boy that they would meet up with someone he knew and had agreed to teach him.

Besides, for the whole time he was with Jiraiya, the old man had focused on getting Naruto to use the power of the Kyuubi in order to become stronger.

While Naruto understood the reason why, he was more than a little annoyed with it. Sure, his strength and speed had increased quite a bit even without tapping into the demon's power; and the lessons he had learned about subjects like tactics, genjutsu, seals and a myriad of other things were without a doubt valuable. But Naruto didn't _want_ to rely on the demon sealed within him. He wanted to prove that yes, the boy without a family, the one that most of Konoha despised could grow to become Hokage.

He wanted to become the strongest Shinobi there ever was.

To do that by relying on the demon that had nearly destroyed the village he wanted so desperately to protect… Well, he didn't really think it should be done that way!

But Jiraiya had been convincing. The fourth Hokage had sealed the demon in Naruto for a reason. And not with just any seal, but one that allowed the boy to tap into its power and that gradually caused the chakra from Naruto and the Kyuubi to fuse together as his own, until finally… the demon would be no more and leave just Uzumaki Naruto.

Or, at least, so the Genin hoped.

Naruto was more than a little apprehensive. Every time he tapped too much into the demon's chakra… Every negative emotion he had was _amplified_ – with rage and blood-lust being the most predominant.

It was as if the demon inside him constantly wanted to prove that yes, it was the strongest. To it nothing mattered but fighting and destroying those standing in the way.

Naruto wanted to become strong, but for a wholly different reason. But he trusted Jiraiya, as Jiraiya trusted him. The sennin had told Naruto that he knew the boy could control it.

"You're just too damn stubborn to give in to it!" He had laughed.

Naruto had to give him that. And so he had trained, and trained… and trained.

And then, when meeting his new teacher, she had beaten him so easily!

Naruto took a deep breath to calm down. Even though he could feel Kyuubi in the back of his mind, growling constantly at the defeat; he focused on Jiraiya's words the night before.

Yugito was a Jounin. As such, she would have more experience than him, and would be stronger. Even so, it had still been humiliating. But Naruto hadn't seen her rubbing it in at all; she simply seemed interested in teaching him. Perhaps even some jutsu if all went well…

Naruto smiled broadly. She was from the hidden Cloud, who knew what kind of repertoire of techniques she had at her disposal!

But there was something strange. _Why_ would someone from another ninja village, no, another _country_ agree to teach someone from the Leaf? Why, especially if the village in question still held onto incredibly tense relations with the Cloud.

Even if she was a jinchuuriki like himself, that couldn't be the only reason. Naruto didn't like Gaara at all when he first met him; with his cold black-rimmed eyes and bloodthirsty attitude, the boy had been all but approachable. But Naruto hoped he had been able to change the redhead, and show him that life wasn't all about killing just to prove your own existence.

So what was the reason for Nii Yugito's tutelage?

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. The question ran though his head constantly, and he wouldn't be able to focus until he had the answer. So with that purpose in mind, he got to his feet and went to find the carrier of the two-tailed beast.

He found her a short distance away, their camping gear stowed away next to her and sitting quietly on the forest floor as she scribbled away in a small notebook. Yugito looked up at his presence and nodded to him.

"Hello again, Naruto. Did you finish the exercises I asked you to do?"

"Hmm?" Naruto thought back to the simple workout he had finished a little while ago before taking a small amount of time to think things over. "Yeah, I did."

For the past three hours he had been going through some basic moves of one of the two new taijutsu styles Yugito wanted him to start on. The first was the Suisei style, literally the strength of a river current. The name struck Naruto as odd, until Yugito showed him how it used the fluidity of her own body's movements to deflect and move with all of his attacks and strike him quickly, and effectively in return. This style, Yugito had said, would be fitting to his Water affinity.

The second was Kamisora Bakuha style, the Razor Blast. Yugito's explanation and example left Naruto in awe. It focused around speed, and quick strikes that could pass the enemy's guard. She hinted that once Naruto had a better grasp of his Wind affinity, it could become even more effective, though how exactly, she would not say yet. One drawback, it seemed, was that it left the user susceptible to attacks more easily.

Yugito had jokingly suggested that perhaps once he had mastered the two styles, he could perhaps integrate them into his own personal style, eliminating its weaknesses. Naruto had grinned at that, perhaps his own name would be suited for it. Maelstrom.

But that was far off, and in all honesty, Naruto couldn't care less about what the two styles were called, but if they helped him to fight more effectively, he was all for it.

Yugito showed him several moves of the Suisei style, making him mimic her and then repeat it at least fifteen times while she corrected any flaws she noticed in his footing or other areas. Then left him while she went off to focus on her own work.

And that's all it took for Naruto to get excited. He had never really bothered, or had the opportunity for that matter, to learn a certain taijutsu style, and was basically a street brawler. Sloppy, but he was sometimes able to catch people off-guard – it all relied on his own ingenuity.

"Good." Yugito said simply, breaking him out of his reverie, and put her notebook and pencil to the side. "Show me."

Naruto inclined his head before slipping into the main Tenba-style stance.

"Spread your feet further apart… that's it." Yugito corrected him gently and watched as Naruto let loose a flurry of kicks, aimed at the knees, and going up until he tilted himself fully at the waist.

"Raise your leg a little more, Naruto." She told the boy as he chambered another kick. "That stance is only as effective as you are at being able to maintain a solid footing."

Naruto nodded almost imperceptibly and used the momentum of the next kick to spin him around completely and follow through with an outstretched thrust with his fist.

"Now finish the series."

The boy spun around again, slamming his elbow into an imaginary opponent and slamming his foot forwards. He went with it and jumped in place, performing a quick back flip to connect his other foot with what would be the enemy's chin.

"Very good, Naruto," Yugito smiled when he let out a deep breath after he finished with several more spins, kicks and stood up straight again. "You picked that up much quicker than I would have thought. Still a little less fluid than it should be, but that will improve with practice."

"Thanks." Naruto couldn't help but blush slightly at the praise.

"Take a little break, I have some leftover food from this morning over there, and I took the liberty to refill your canteen." She motioned towards their camp and picked up her notebook again.

Naruto stole the odd glance at her while he ate and wondered what she was writing about. When he looked at Yugito over the rim of his canteen, he debated on asking her now, or later. After all, this was the first day she was actually teaching him, and he didn't want to intrude. However, as it usually did, Naruto's curiosity got the better of him and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Is something the matter, Naruto?" Yugito asked, and the Kyuubi vessel snapped his jaws together with an audible clack.

She hadn't even looked up from her scribbling.

"W-well…" Naruto scratched his chin and looked flustered. "Not that I'm ungrateful, 'cause I think it's great you're teaching me and all, but uhm… Uh… Why _are_ you teaching me, anyway? You're from the hidden Cloud!"

"Ah." Yugito focused on him with those ghostly pale blue eyes and folded her arms atop her notebook on her lap, drumming her pencil against her thigh. "Yes, I suppose I should have told you why from the start."

Even though she said that, her brow furrowed slightly and to Naruto it looked like Yugito was having some sort of internal debate. He waited patiently until she spoke up again.

Well, as patiently as he could anyway. Naruto never was much of a person to sit still for very long.

"I owe Jiraiya-sama a large debt, Naruto." Yugito said firmly.

"You do?" Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Like money?"

Yugito smirked at that and shook her head, her ponytail sweeping across her back. "No, nothing like that; he…" She cleared her throat. "He saved my life six years ago."

Naruto's expression didn't change. "Wow, really?"

"That's right."

"Well, at least he didn't ask you to do anything perverted." Naruto joked, knowing that although Jiraiya liked his vices, he wouldn't actually stoop that low.

Yugito laughed at that. "Quite right" she agreed. "No, he didn't."

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto smiled. "Ero-sennin really is amazing."

Leaning forwards, Yugito nodded. "That he is."

"So…" The boy pressed, eager to know the details. "What happened?"

Yugito's lips curled up in a mischievous smile. "Perhaps I'll tell you at another time, but suffice to say, I was more than a little foolhardy when I was younger and your teacher ended up saving me."

Naruto frowned in disappointment. He would have liked to hear about it. "So that's why you agreed to teach me? What about your village, why did they let you go?"

The Jounin seemed to appraise him and tapped her foot once. "Well, that's one of the reasons. As for your other question… you know about the Akatsuki, of course."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement and Yugito continued.

"When Jiraiya-sama informed me of that group's intent, I… we could scarcely believe him. You have to understand that Akatsuki is mostly regarded as just a myth, and only a precious few people outside of that group know of its existence." She propped her chin on her fist and gesticulated with her free hand, pencil still clutched between her slender fingers.

"After he saved my life he actually brought me back to the hidden Cloud himself and met with the Raikage. Jiraiya-sama debated for several long hours with him – I can still remember the shouting." Yugito grinned at the memory.

"In the end though, despite Jiraiya-sama's proof, the Raikage didn't believe him and told him to leave the village. Jiraiya-sama had told them about Akatsuki's intentions concerning the Bijuu, and I guess the Raikage didn't _want_ to believe of any group going after his perfect weapon."

Naruto remained silent, slightly slack jawed at the thought of a Kage being that dense, and the moniker of being a Perfect Weapon. It seemed so... cold. 'Old man Sarutobi would have believed ero-sennin!' Then again, the pervert had been the Third's student.

"Jiraiya-sama left, stating that he would look for the jinchuuriki, and inform them of Akatsuki's goals. The Raikage refused to speak of it ever again until…"

"Until…" Naruto mirrored when she paused.

Yugito smiled sardonically. "A village in the western province of my country was annihilated three years after that. My team and I were the first on the scene and we found only a single survivor out of the thousands that had lived there. There was a little girl, trapped under the burnt out husk of her house, hugging the charred corpse of her mother."

Naruto gulped when Yugito's tone went cold, her lips setting in a thin line. "We dug her out first. I... took her in my arms, asking what had happened to her village. She looked at me... She was so frightened..." Yugito swallowed and shook her head. "She told me that bogeymen had come, dressed in black cloaks with red clouds."

"No…" Naruto's mouth opened in horror.

"We took her back to Kumogakure. The Raikage decreed it an S-rank secret and ordered us to never divulge what had happened under punishment of death."

"But…"

"Yeah…" Yugito nodded. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you now."

Naruto took a double take at those words before spluttering in shock. "What!?!"

The Jounin laughed heartedly. "Relax, Naruto. I'm kidding."

"That's not funny!" He protested, pointing a finger at her accusingly.

Yugito cocked her head and smiled before blinking several times and sighing. "No, I suppose it's not."

"Hmmph!" Naruto averted his head and closed his eyes.

"But anyway, you're a special case, so I won't get into trouble for it. What's important is that the Raikage suddenly had proof that he just couldn't deny. He was able to dismiss the evidence that Jiraiya-sama had brought as untrustworthy, due to the Sannin being from the Leaf. But this… an attack in the country that he was supposed to protect…"

Yugito noticed she once again had Naruto's full attention.

"Let's just say that Akatsuki became one of the hidden Cloud's most prominent targets. When Jiraiya-sama contacted me, I was allowed to leave the village for however long it takes to help you and Jiraiya-sama out; since that, in turn, helps us."

Naruto was quiet as he processed the information.

"So there are more of us?" He asked, his gaze downcast.

"Besides you, Gaara of the hidden Sand and me, three more are known to exist." Yugito answered.

Naruto curled his fingers up tightly.

"One is unsealed, and the location of the last is unknown – not even Jiraiya-sama knows where it is."

Yugito noticed Naruto's rising anger and quickly moved to squat in front of him. She covered his shaking fists with her gloved hands and whispered. "I know how you feel, but getting angry now is not the answer."

Naruto's head snapped up so fast that Yugito was worried it might fly off entirely. "It isn't fair." He growled and his eyes flashed red.

"I know." Yugito agreed, surprised that the boy would experience _this_ much emotion over another's situation; but she felt his clenched hands loosen. "All we can do is to make sure nothing similar happens to anybody else again. We can see to it that Akatsuki doesn't make use of us for its own goals. Wouldn't you agree?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "It isn't fair…" He repeated.

Yugito squeezed his hands with hers, and stayed with him a few moments before she returned to her previous position and silently resumed her writing.

Naruto went back to the spot in which he had practised his taijutsu, and resumed his training with greater fervour than ever before.

* * *

'You didn't tell him.' 

Yugito ignored the silky purr in her mind, choosing to focus entirely on the training regiment she was drawing up. The mental equivalent of a playful head butt stilled her motions anyway.

'You didn't tell him.' The voice repeated in the same tone, clearly amused.

'No. I didn't.' Yugito affirmed, and resumed her work.

'Ah, my child… You know you cannot ignore me.' Something inside the young woman shifted and warmth suffused her nerves as if she were wrapped in a robe made from the most luxurious silks out of the hidden Mist. She couldn't help but sigh softly in contentment. 'Tell me why, my little kitten.' The feeling abated and Yugito slumped.

'By the Kami, you're worse than Jiraiya-sama.'

The voice seemed unperturbed and perhaps even pleased. 'You are mine, and I am yours. Nothing will change that.'

Yugito smirked, her eyes flashing gold before she fluttered them closed. 'There is something special about him.'

For the first time, the source of the voice sounded discontent. 'He is nothing.'

'Perhaps not now,' Yugito agreed and rolled her shoulders in a non-committal shrug. 'But he will be a great Shinobi one day.'

The voice remained silent before it once again spoke up. 'We will teach him.' It purred. 'He will control the Destroyer.'

Yugito's eyelids opened to reveal pale blue eyes once again. 'And we will gain a valuable ally.' She thought with finality before refocusing on what she had written so far and had yet to jot down.

The Nibi inside of her agreed and became dormant once more.

* * *

"One-hundred and two… One-hundred and three… One-hundred and four…" 

Naruto felt beads of sweat trail down the bridge of his nose, dripping down into a steadily increasing darkened smudge on the dusty ground beneath him.

"One-hundred and eight…"

He glanced to his right and left and glared hatefully at the seals painted on the back of his hands and arms, leading up to his exposed chest and back before trailing further downwards until reaching his bare feet.

Naruto was certain that they were mocking him with that dull glowing whenever he exerted any effort to move.

"One-hundred and fourteen… A little faster, Naruto, you're slipping. One-hundred and fifteen…"

"Yes…" Naruto grunted as he pushed himself from the ground once more. "Yugito-sensei."

The platinum-blonde Jounin certainly wasn't going out of her way to make this any more pleasant, droning out the increasing number of push-ups the teen performed while she sat comfortably on his back.

"Damn, nngh… Freaking… Argh! Seals!"

"You're the one who asked for a method to speed up your power and speed training, Naruto, not me." Yugito pointed out, wetting her finger tips before she turned another page in the book she was reading. "One-hundred and twenty-one…"

"I… nngh… know!"

Aside from Naruto's grunts, they didn't speak again until he hit two-hundred and let himself drop, boneless, to the ground. Fine dust billowed out from under him in miniature clouds.

After this set of two-hundred push-ups, and the sit-ups, pull-ups and several other workout sessions, he was pooped.

The blue glow of the so called 'Counter Force Seals' muted until it disappeared completely, leaving Naruto's skin crawling with a myriad of odd symbols and kanji he couldn't make heads or tails out of.

Yugito told him that she had been taught how to apply them from ancient seal masters in the Thunder Mountains, far to the north of Kumogakure. She preferred the seals to actual weights, leaving her with less bulk to contend with while training, and the ease with which she could deactivate them – of course, she hadn't told Naruto how to yet.

The 'Counter Force Seals' operated on the simple basis that the more you pushed yourself, the successively harder it became to actually move. They constantly adjusted depending on how much you improved yourself.

Naruto couldn't care less; from the moment it was applied to his skin it had been hell. Four weeks after the fact, it still was a struggle to do exercises of any kind – which kind of was the whole point.

Yugito suspected that if it were anyone else but the boy who had the Kyuubi sealed inside of him and had been given the gift of regeneration; they would have died from the stress already. She hadn't told him this little titbit of information either.

For now, Yugito kept him focused on simple workouts to increase his muscle strength and speed. She had shown him the first sets of the Suisei style, and made Naruto perform it to see if he had any aptitude for it at all. She was glad to note that he did. The second style they wouldn't even touch before Naruto had explored his Wind affinity further.

Yugito stretched lazily and closed her book with an audible snap before getting off the boy's back. "That was good, Naruto, but I know you can do it faster."

The Jounin had found that the best way to motivate the Leaf-nin was to point out he could still do better. Inevitably, the boy would try to prove his 'increased' proficiency in the next training sessions.

Currently though, Naruto didn't quite feel up to it, still lying on the ground as he was. He grunted absently, shifting only to make himself a little more comfortable. The two had stopped in their journey to the Wind country to set up camp on the border between the land of Cliffs and Fire, and train for at least a week until they would pack up and move on again.

Yugito opened the blonde's backpack and fished out a towel. She threw it in Naruto's direction. "Take a shower and clean yourself up." Anyone else would have declared her mad, seeing the two were in a particularly arid area, and the closest body of water was at least several dozens of kilometres away.

Then again, they wouldn't know about the water element technique Yugito had taught Naruto. It didn't have any particular offensive or defensive use, it was simply practical. Condensing the moisture of the air around the user, multiplying it, and enabling you to say… refill a canteen with water.

What Naruto did, and without even meaning to, was create perhaps the first portable shower ninjutsu known to mankind. The only downside was that it left the surrounding air uncomfortably dry for anyone else.

He still couldn't control it very well, and it didn't really have a name either, but Yugito insisted on him learning how to use the technique for the sake of her olfactory well-being. There were drawbacks to having a very sensitive nose after all - something a certain Inuzuka Kiba knew all too well.

Naruto grumbled, grabbed the towel listlessly and shakily got to his feet.

Yugito watched him leave and grinned. She had come to the conclusion that Naruto was very keen on the training regimen she had set him up. He'd complain now and again, but he usually took his lumps without any objection.

All in all, Yugito had to say that even though he was the first student she'd ever had, she had never seen anyone with his kind of zeal to improve himself. It felt… good. He still had another month to go though, before she would deactivate the Counter Force seals.

She was a little surprised to find herself excited at the thought of how much the boy might improve until that point in time. Yugito had only used the Counter Force seals on herself sparingly, simply because it put too much of a strain on the human body if used for too long.

Once the seals were deactivated, Yugito would teach him several useful, low-ranked techniques suited for combat. She figured it would take two weeks after that, give or take a few days; enough time for them to make their way to Sunagakure. If Jiraiya's information, which had been delivered in the form of a small scroll the previous week by a particularly noisy toad crying for sweets, was correct, they would be expected by the Kazekage himself.

Yugito chuckled to herself. 'Naruto is going to be in for one hell of a surprise.'

The only thing that mattered aside from all of the rest, was to train the boy to control his chakra more effectively. He had a lot to spare, but had a tendency to infuse his techniques with too much chakra, leading to him needing a clone to make a Rasengan, or slightly unstable shadow clones that couldn't take much of a hit before disappearing again.

'That shouldn't be too hard, I'm sure he'll fine-tune his chakra-control in no time.' Yugito thought, knowing that Naruto would throw himself into the training without any hesitation.

Elsewhere, however, both Kakashi and Jiraiya burst out into gales of laughter without knowing why. It died down quickly enough, but it introduced them both to a whole new world of pain:

Kakashi received a violent knee to the groin because Mitarashi Anko didn't quite appreciate the fact that he found their lovemaking so amusing. He kept wondering what had brought it on as he cupped his slightly less-manly-than-before bits and moaned pitifully. He didn't even notice the flash in the corner of his uncovered eye.

Sarutobi Asuma didn't care as he stood outside of Kakashi's apartment and shook the Polaroid photo to reveal Kakashi curled into a ball, hands between his legs. He let out a laugh and grinned when he thought about Chouji reacting to the pictures in his wallet. His student wouldn't be raiding _his_ wallet anymore... And, with luck, it would help stop the pervert from peeping the next time Asuma and Kurenai finally found some time alone together.

Jiraiya found out that his research was considerably less effective if he laughed so loud. As a result, his research subjects could immediately hone in on his compromised position. The women of the bathhouse he had been spying on agreed that he needed a particularly long and painful session to remind him of the values of discretion. Somehow he couldn't quite shake the feeling that Naruto had something to do with this.

* * *

Chapter end. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Marquis Le'Quack, Revanant Dragoon.

Note: Thank you for the reviews. Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 04:**

* * *

"Naruto, I'm telling you, don't pour so much chakra into it, you'll make your hands explode one of these days!"

"I'm trying, Yugito-sensei!"

"Try harder, or is this some sick experiment to see if you can regenerate your appendages with Kyuubi's help?!"

"No!" Naruto snapped with finality, a snarl marring his features, and focused back on his hands.

"Watch it!" Yugito warned and quickly moved backwards.

Too late: the amount of chakra Naruto had been gathering in his hands grew exponentially and arcs of lightning flailed about unchecked, hungrily seeking anything to latch on to and electrocute.

Inevitably, a high-pitched whine rose to a loud crescendo and finished with a bang that knocked the blonde on his ass. "Aargh…" He muttered, pained, and raised his smoking hands.

"God-_damnit_, Naruto!" Yugito screeched, her cool shattered as for what had seemed the hundredth time (it was the thirty-sixth, actually), Naruto failed to regulate his chakra enough for the jutsu she had been teaching him to work as it should.

Yugito took several deep and steadying breaths before she hurried over to Naruto and crouched beside him.

"Are you alright?" She inquired tersely, still annoyed but trying hard not to show it.

"I'm… nngh… fine." Naruto mumbled but grimaced visibly as he sat up and cradled his hands in his lap.

Despite herself, the corners of Yugito's lips twitched after grabbing his arms and inspecting the injured extremities. They didn't smoke anymore, and the burnt, reddened skin was already healing. Yugito's eyebrows rose on their own accord, surprised at the speed of Naruto's regeneration. The Nibi granted her an increased recovery rate as well, but nothing like this.

"You know, you're the first person I've met to turn an incapacitating jutsu into something that could make something explode." She told him, trying not to look Genin in the eyes. "It's the Lightning Palm technique, not the Blow-Everything-To-Hell technique."

"Yeah, well, I'm amazing that way." Naruto winced and smiled. "Uzumaki Naruto – number one surprising ninja, screwing with techniques since academy graduation."

Yugito couldn't help it and laughed out loud. Naruto joined in, glad that she wasn't truly angry with him.

"We're going to have to spend more time teaching you how to properly control your chakra than I thought." The Jounin noted. "And I'll have to have some words with Jiraiya-sama, about that. Did you just stop training chakra-control after you had water-walking down?"

"Uh…" Naruto hazarded intelligently. "Shouldn't I have?"

"Hmm." Yugito rubbed her chin thoughtfully, trying to decide how to explain it to him. "Well, for someone else it's not really an issue. But you're special." She stood up and walked over to one of the small benches beside the small shrine they stopped at for the day.

Naruto followed her, flexing his fingers with exaggerated care.

Yugito sat down with an audible thump and sighed. She crossed her arms in front of her and stared into the distance. "Your demon is… chaotic."

It still amazed Naruto to hear anyone label Kyuubi as being _his_ demon as opposed to their being one and the same. He didn't think he would ever get used to it either. The boy listened with rapt attention as Yugito continued.

"Kyuubi is sheer power; an engine of destruction." She sighed. "It didn't, and still doesn't, I suppose, care about any kind of control. At all."

Yugito looked at Naruto pointedly, making him squirm despite himself.

"After all, why focus on that when you have a limitless amount of chakra?"

Naruto swallowed and chewed his lip as he pondered this.

"Hey, Yugito-sensei…" He finally began.

"Hmm?" She prompted him, unfolding her arms and leaned her elbows on the back of the bench.

Naruto shifted and rotated to face his teacher fully. "How come you know so much about Kyuubi anyway?"

"Heh." She smiled and tilted her head before patting her stomach. "Jiraiya-sama isn't the only one with sources of information, you know."

Naruto blinked, taken aback. "Wait…" He said slowly, making sure he heard right. "You mean the Nibi told you?"

"Of course!" Yugito exclaimed and raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you talked to your demon before?"

Naruto felt his jaw drop. "But…"

"But what?"

"Well… I mean…" Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek. "I thought maybe I was the only one."

Yugito shook her head. "No, the Nibi is quite talkative when she wants to be."

Naruto's jaw dropped again. "It can talk to you on its own?!"

"She." Yugito corrected the blonde but nodded all the same. "That's right."

"She, fine, but…" Tapping his now fully healed hands on his thighs quietly, Naruto cleared his throat. "I only talk to Kyuubi when I'm about to die! Or close to. Whatever!"

"Oh?" Yugito was genuinely interested. "What happens?"

"Well… I pass out and there's this sewer thing and…"

Naruto fell silent as Yugito's eyes flashed gold before she burst out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" He asked, puzzled by the Kumo-nin's reaction.

Yugito wiped away a tear forming in the corner of her once-again pale blue eyes. "Ah…" She chuckled heartily. "She thinks that's hilarious. A sewer, hah! Maybe that's why it's always so pissed off when you call on its power!"

Naruto watched with muted fascination when Yugito leaned to the side, arms wrapped around her stomach, then fell on the ground, laughing loudly.

It took a full minute before it died down and she was able to compose herself.

"Oh Kami-sama." Yugito wheezed, sitting back down again, and settled a hand on Naruto's shoulder, squeezing it companionably. "Sorry, Naruto, but sometimes her emotions influence mine heavily."

"That… That's okay." Naruto fought hard to regain control of the tick his left eyebrow had developed.

"Anyway, in regard to your earlier question… Yes, the Nibi provided me with information about the Kyuubi."

"Wow." Naruto's eyes thinned to slits and he smiled broadly up at Yugito. "That's really useful! Maybe Kyuubi won't be such a pain in the ass if he can do the same for me!"

Yugito's face grew grim. "Naruto, the Bijuu are very fickle creatures and…" She paused and rolled her shoulders uncomfortably before resuming. "…the nine-tails is even more so. You shouldn't take anything it says at face value. Foxes are tricksters, and that one is the biggest one of them all."

"But you said that the Nibi told you all kinds of stuff! And you believe _her_!"

"We have an…" A mysterious smile ghosted across Yugito's features, "…understanding." She silenced any other impending objections with a single raised finger. "That's all I'm going to say about it."

Naruto stuck out his lower lip but nodded regardless.

"Now, we were talking about your demon's limitless chakra…"

Yugito spent the next half hour outlining her theories on why exactly Naruto's chakra control was so abysmal. All of which left the boy's mind abuzz, and feeling even more upset at his unwanted prisoner for screwing up his life.

It wasn't enough to make nearly everyone in Konoha hate him, but to interfere with his chakra-control as well…?

Naruto vowed to himself that he was going to fine-tune his chakra control even if it was the last thing he'd ever do.

And yet, there was something else which… _angered_ him as well. Only now did he realize the importance of having a good grasp on the amount of chakra he poured into techniques to make them work properly.

He could forgive Jiraiya, because he wanted Naruto to focus on power. More clones. More powerful Rasengan...

But… what about Kakashi? All he had taught him was how to climb a tree without using his hands; and then what?

Naruto scowled darkly at that - then what indeed.

He could count on one hand what the silver-haired, chronically-late openly perverted teacher had taught him. But it wasn't too surprising. He had Sasuke to think about, too. Who better to teach the last Uchiha in Konoha than the one with a Sharingan eye himself. Of course he wasn't going to have a lot of time for Naruto or Sakura.

...right?

As far as the Academy went, it was a given that he wouldn't be taught overly much in the way of techniques, even though Iruka did his best.

But Sasuke, he knew so much, he was so strong... Why did he have to leave?

'Maybe I shouldn't think about this so much.' Naruto thought to himself, now alone on the bench, Yugito having gone off to hunt for food. It was getting late, and perhaps he was just tired and cranky. He moved to their packs and extracted some flint and tinder, along with a few stray pieces of wood to start a small fire.

As if on cue, Yugito reappeared when he got the camp-fire going, two rabbits in one hand and a small container filled with assorted fruits in the other.

They ate in silence that night, the Jounin picked up on Naruto's mood and let him be, knowing he had much to think about.

However unwilling he might have been, Yugito was right, and as they settled in to sleep, Naruto stayed awake for several more hours. His thoughts were a never ending tidal wave as he questioned everything from when he had graduated so long ago. Especially about his bond with Sasuke. Had he been so wrong in judging him as his brother? Why couldn't he just stay in the Leaf and let Naruto and Sakura help him fulfil his ambition?

If he had been wrong about Sasuke… what else was he wrong about?

Flashes of swirling red eyes and a near-perpetual sneer forced themselves to the forefront of his mind. The blonde forced them back, but he could still feel the traitorous memories lurking just beneath the surface.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered into the night before slumber took him.

Dreams haunted him; nightmares thrust questions at him about winged avengers and streaks of lightning, questions about if he really knew what he was doing at all.

When he awoke the next day, Uzumaki Naruto only knew that he had never been as uncertain of his goals from that moment on in his life.

* * *

The next day, Yugito grew worried at the boy's continuing downcast mood. He had barely spoken at all that morning, only muttering a quick good morning and a series of grunts whenever she said anything while they packed their backpacks and continued on their journey to the Wind country.

Normally he'd happily chatter about any subject at all, more often than not his team-mates along with good-natured complaints about Jiraiya's perverted shenanigans. And if he couldn't think of anything to say, he'd press for stories from Yugito herself.

'Then why…?' Yugito's slender eyebrows furrowed, staring at the back of Naruto's head as he walked several steps ahead of her, and reflected on the day before.

And still she found herself at a loss. He hadn't seemed too upset that when they talked about the Bijuu; was he just angry that his chakra control needed work? She found that unlikely. If it were a disease, Naruto would definitely have a chronic case of an obsessive need to improve himself in all things. Maybe he _was_ obsessive compulsive?

"Hey, Naruto!" she called out, watching the boy tense for a split second. "What's the matter?"

Naruto didn't answer right away, and without being able to look at his face, Yugito couldn't deduce anything from his expression either.

"Nothing's wrong, Yugito-sensei." He answered at length.

"Don't lie to me, Naruto." Yugito told him in clipped tones. "You've been grumpy ever since last night."

He seemed to wince at that, which disturbed her even more.

"…I'm sorry, sensei. Really, it's nothing."

And that was when Yugito found out that Naruto couldn't lie even if his life depended on it. If she hadn't seen his abilities first-hand, she would doubt his worth as a Shinobi. The younger blonde couldn't help but be brutally honest with his emotions and thus betray himself.

Yugito noted his sad tone as he tried to placate her. Her frown smoothed out and she increased her pace until they walked shoulder to shoulder. "I told you, don't lie to me." She said, gently this time.

Naruto's face, Yugito saw, was scrunched up as if he were weighing something of deep importance. His eyes were aimed at his feet, carefully measuring each step, but he was clearly lost in thought.

"Does this have anything to do with what we discussed yesterday?" Yugito inquired.

His bright blue eyes looked up and locked with hers. "Do you think…?" He began carefully, _timidly_. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?"

Naruto briefly looked away as though shamed. "I mean, I know Akatsuki is after me… after us… but..." He swallowed. "The real reason I wanted to train was because…"

He trailed off, and Yugito had to prompt him to continue. She nudged him with her elbow. "Because…?"

"I made a promise to Sakura-chan."

'Ah, the team-mate with pink hair.' Yugito nodded. Apparently this story was going to be difficult to drag out of Naruto. "What promise did you make?"

"That I'd definitely bring Sasuke back." Naruto explained, looking down at his feet again.

"But you failed." Yugito's voice was even, knowing it to be fact. The last Uchiha, aside from Itachi, was known even in the far reaches of Lightning. The fact that he had defected from the Leaf to join one of the most powerful missing-nin had promoted his publicity and reputation.

"Yeah, I failed…" Naruto affirmed, obviously depressed about it.

"That can't be the real reason why you're so down, Naruto." Yugito hadn't known the boy for that long, but with his disposition, she doubted very much that he'd let his failure stand in the way of trying again. Naruto was almost painfully optimistic by nature. "So why tell me this?"

Naruto's sadness turned into anger. "Because he ran away!" He stopped walking and yelled. "He had everything! We would have helped him fulfill his ambition! Even Kakashi-sensei, he… he always trained Sasuke…"

Yugito had halted as well. It appeared that she'd have to go two steps back before being able to go forward with him. "What about it? Didn't he teach you enough or something?"

Naruto shrugged helplessly, giving Yugito an idea of what might have gone on. Perhaps the Uchiha kid had been somewhat privileged in the way of training by Naruto's Jounin teacher, and all what that entailed. The Leaf prided itself on its numerous bloodlines, they would hardly want to lose the last chance at keeping the Sharingan in their village.

Yugito knew all too well the dangers of having everything handed to you, and not having the humility to appreciate it. After all, it was why she had so stupidly faced overwhelming numbers on her own those six years ago. Thankfully, Jiraiya had been around then.

"So… So am I just an idiot after all for going after Sasuke?!" Naruto exclaimed, though he wouldn't face Yugito, ashamed to show the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.

"Naruto…" Yugito whispered and grimaced, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I… I can't tell you exactly what to do, but…" She put a finger underneath his chin and forced him to face her. "But your loyalty doesn't make you an idiot. Uchiha Sasuke made his own choice to join Orochimaru, for better or worse."

Kami, he was a Leaf-nin, why did she care so much about how this blonde kid felt anyway? 'Stupid…' Yugito mentally berated herself. 'Getting too attached, that has to be it.'

"We would have helped him…" Naruto mumbled again, to which Yugito nodded.

"I don't doubt that you would have. But Naruto, when he left your village, he turned his back on you as well. Do you really think he deserves your friendship?"

"I don't know." Naruto admitted.

Yugito dropped her hand and resumed walking.

"Think hard about it." Yugito shot over her shoulder. Her voice deepened and distorted slightly, her words laced with promises of pain as her eyes blazed a horrible gold. "But if I had been in your situation, I would have killed him with my bare hands."

* * *

The following week passed by quickly in a haze of ninjutsu and chakra control training by day and soul-searching by night. Naruto could have sworn he heard Kyuubi chuckle at his misery inside his head.

Neither of the training subjects had gone all too well, and progress was slow. It was quite frustrating after his success with strength and speed training. The seals had done their job well, even if they had been exhausting to train with. The subsequent sparring match against Yugito, this time with her holding back a little more than the first time they fought, he had managed to get a few hits in.

But this week, Yugito had made Naruto do some outrageous things that he wouldn't have thought of himself.

The two of them were fast approaching the Wind country border, and as such, trees to climb or water to walk on were in very short supply. So, Yugito had simply set Naruto to work creating a large hole with his Rasengan – she had been pressing him to form the technique one-handed claiming it another useful way of training, and then fill said hole with the nameless water technique she had taught him before.

After he had created himself a small pond, Yugito had him perform a set of katas from the Suisei style she had shown him while water-walking.

"Naruto, chakra-control is something that you have to keep practicing." She had explained. "Especially for you, only through constant training will you improve at all."

After he was finished though, Yugito quickly shooed him away to train his ninjutsu elsewhere while she took the opportunity to bathe, an activity she found somewhat of a rarity these past few weeks.

Juggling his continuing battle to control his chakra and trying to ingrain the beginner set of the new taijutsu style Yugito wanted him to learn, the Jounin also showed him two other techniques.

Naruto had been ecstatic, cheering loudly until Yugito informed him that she wouldn't teach him any more until he could prove that he could control the three techniques proficiently. Unfortunately, such was easier said than done.

On top of the low level "Raiton: Lightning Palm," she showed him another of the same element and an earth element technique: "Raiton: Thunder Clap" and "Doton: Barrier Wall."

The Thunder Clap technique had the basic structure of the Lightning Palm, only this time focusing the chakra required in both hands and slamming them together and release it in a moderate domed shockwave of static electricity. Yugito had said it was useful for disorienting several enemies at once, provided they were in range, and dispelling lower level illusions as it tended to disrupt the chakra constructs holding it together.

As with when Naruto had practiced the Lightning Palm technique, the Thunder clap technique consistently blew up in his face.

The Barrier Wall technique required a slightly longer sequence of hand seals compared to the two lightning techniques, but nothing else. A defensive jutsu, it literally threw up a wall of earth in front of the user to block incoming projectiles or low grade ninjutsu.

This one, unlike the Raiton techniques, didn't have any chance of exploding. On his first try, Naruto managed to erect a two meter thick wall four times his height and twice as broad. Yugito tested it – punched it once – before concluding it a success, even though the wall was still too large. If Naruto wanted the wall to last longer and compact it into a small size, he'd have to work from sunup to sundown, practicing the technique nonstop.

When three seconds had passed, Naruto found out why she had said that, the barrier crumbling with a roaring crash.

Despite the hollow success, Naruto's spirits buoyed significantly, as he had been growing steadily more upset with his inability to perform the lightning techniques properly. After all, what else was training for?

On the last day, the day that they'd pass the border and head to Sunagakure, Naruto was finishing up his taijutsu session on top of the pond he had created the evening before. He was bent slightly at the knees and had jumped up for a spinning kick when his concentration was shattered by the loud cry of a hawk that whizzed by his ear, missing him by mere centimeters. Naruto emitted his own sound of surprise and crashed into the water.

Yugito, who had already seen the bird approach in the clear blue sky above the desert they would soon be entering, laughed at the boy's shocked face and his subsequent scowls as he dragged himself out of his impromptu early morning bath.

She lifted her arm, inviting the bird to land on the makeshift perch, and ignored Naruto's muttered curses. The hawk settled with a flurry of beating wings and grabbed hold on to the limb with its large talons, but careful not to break the skin or bandages wrapped around it..

"What is it?" Naruto asked, slipping off his orange-black jacket and wringing it out to get rid of the majority of water.

"It's a messenger bird from the Hidden Sand." Yugito informed him after checking the symbol on the hawk's small breastplate. She alleviated it of its burden, a small scroll tied to one of its legs, and the bird set off once again, rapidly disappearing into the sky.

"Really?" Naruto moved over to the Jounin, carelessly kicking off his sandals and draping his jacket over a large nearby boulder.

Yugito didn't answer right away, snapping the wax seal on the scroll and unfurling it to read its contents. "Hmm." She hummed, and flicked her eyes towards Naruto momentarily, who was now trying to wring out his pants without taking them off. "It seems the hidden Sand has a request for us, Naruto."

"Nngh… okay, what is it?" He grunted, moving up from his pants to take off his black t-shirt with a large orange swirl on the back and wring that out, too.

"Well, it's a mission to take out a missing-nin who recently left Suna and evaded their hunter-nin by hiding out in a nearby border village. Male, twenty years old, name is Okibi, apparently specializes in fire techniques." Yugito looked thoughtful. "I hadn't planned on stopping by that place, but I guess we could."

"Uhm…" Naruto stared at her, frowning and eyes narrowing. "Why ask us, if they know where he is now? How do they know we're here? and why haven't their hunter-nin… you know… hunted him down yet?"

Yugito smirked. "Think about it, Naruto. They are ninja, they're paid to know who is where in their country. They could go after him, or leave it to us to see if we're willing to take this mission as a sign of goodwill on our part. We _are_ two foreign ninjas in Sunagakure territory." She shrugged and rolled the scroll back up. "Besides, it will save them money to not have to pay their own hunter-nin, since the bounty we will get from bringing in the guy's head will be significantly lower."

Naruto cringed. "H-his head?"

"What do you expect? When Shinobi betray their villages, and are declared missing-nin, that's a death sentence unless there are some special circumstances. Those villages don't want them back, since ninjas without loyalty are too great a liability." Yugito watched Naruto gulp and raised a questioning eyebrow. "You _have_ killed before, haven't you?"

Naruto shook his head slowly.

"Well then, I guess today you're going to have your chance to make your first kill." She looked oddly gleeful. "I want to see what you can do after all your training!"

* * *

Yugito felt an eyebrow rise on its own accord as she observed Naruto peruse the wares of several market stands in the border village they were sent to check.

There was nothing too peculiar about this place, partly why the missing-nin had chosen it as his hide-out, she supposed. There seemed to be some kind of festival going on though, some minor harvest kami due for its annual tribute. Yugito took all this in, storing it and keeping a wary eye out for their target, but her real focus was on Naruto.

Or rather, it was on the blonde girl who Naruto had transformed into. He had dubbed it his 'Oroike no Jutsu' (Sexy technique). Yugito hadn't been terribly impressed with the name, which the boy had claimed to be an anti-pervert technique. She could understand why, it did transform him into an attractive woman roughly two years older than his normal age.

Currently, he was posing as her younger sister, having made slight alterations to the illusion's skin and hair-tone and features. Yugito was slightly unnerved at Naruto's skill at assuming his role. The _girl_ was browsing through an assortment of fruits, picking up this and that before putting it down again, eyes alight with the promise of shopping.

"Naruko." Yugito called out. "Come on, let's find a place to rest."

Naruko gave an apologetic grin to the burly man behind the stand, even receiving a free apple for her efforts, and waved brightly before skipping over to her older sister, munching happily.

"Freeloader." Yugito play-acted and ruffled her little sibling's pig-tailed hair. The Jounin had also covered herself with a slight illusion, altering her clothes so they too had some orange tones and removed her forehead protector.

Naruko smiled broadly and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. "You're just upset you didn't get one!"

"Hmmph. Let's find the inn, I'm sure we'll find what we're looking for there." Yugito proposed, to which the other blonde nodded.

It was easy to find, almost smack-dab in the middle of the village, and the reveling villagers were happy to point the way. Apparently, this small festival drew a small number of visitors from other villages every year so they weren't too surprised to see two unknown women clad in black and orange attires.

The inn was small, like the village itself, only two stories high and not very broad. It had a small structure added to it, which turned out to be the local bar. This time of day though, it was relatively empty and the two of them didn't have any difficulty getting a seat on a couple of chairs around a small table in the back.

Yugito flagged down the only waitress, ordered some sake for herself and juice for her little sister. Once the order had arrived, along with a complementary side-dish of dango which Naruko quickly tore into - having finished her apple long ago, Yugito leaned over the table slightly.

"Remember the plan?" She murmured so no-one else could hear, yet smiling if they were to attract any odd glances.

"Yup!" Naruko grinned and inhaled the last bite of the dango and slurped down her juice loudly.

"Alright, I'll stay here, you head upstairs and check out the rooms."

"Yes ma'am!" Naruko gave a mock-salute and left the bar, passing through the arched doorway that led into the inn itself and up a set of winding stairs to the second floor.

This gave Yugito a moment to reflect on the events so far. She leaned back into her seat, the weathered wood creaking slightly in protest. She picked up her saucer of sake and sniffed it, then took a small sip.

Illusions were fickle things, Yugito mused, and ones that altered your entire appearance or gender, even more so. Good ninjas didn't need them when infiltrating potential hostile situations or on when gathering information. This was because it was, first and foremost, an illusion, not substantial. One would not be able handle things normally, unless layered over their own skin so finely that it didn't appear unnatural.

Naruto, apparently, didn't have that problem.

Especially not since it seemed that he didn't so much layer an illusion over himself, as he _became_ the illusion. Yugito had performed several small tests, like letting Naruto handle items with his bare hands and ruffling his longer hair, which, unlike a construct to fool the eyes, you could actually feel.

'Seems I was wrong,' Yugito thought to herself, 'He has good control of at least one of his gifts.'

When the Kunoichi finished her drink and signaled for another, three things happened in quick succession.

The first was a series of loud screams and shouts from the floor above. Second, a surge in chakra that was distinctly unnatural. Thirdly, a roaring plume of fire that shot out of the side of the inn, blasting out most of the windows on that floor in a spray of glittering rain, followed closely by three forms dropping to the dirt-paved street right outside of the bar.

One was already running down the street, the second cradled the third, before laying it on the ground gently and racing after the first in a red blur.

Having seen the last event through the large glass paned window of the bar itself, Yugito was outside before the waitress even thought of screaming.

* * *

All too familiar rage filled Naruto's senses. His eyes were covered in a red haze, yet surprisingly clear as they focused on the flame-shaped hair of his target in front of him. Naruto's heartbeat thudded loudly in his ears, drowning out any other noise.

But all he wanted, at this moment, was to rip the fleeing missing-nin to shreds. Trash like him didn't deserve to live. Naruto didn't even care about Kyuubi's howls, cheering on the boy's bloodlust.

Two minutes ago, he had been scouting out the rooms of the inn in his illusionary form.

One minute later, he had smashed open the door at the end of a hallway, spurred on by the cries of a woman in need, illusion forgotten.

Just five seconds later, Okibi, so shocked by his sudden appearance, blasted the room apart with an explosive fire jutsu not meant for close quarters. He escaped immediately through a large hole punched in the wall by the technique, leaving Naruto singed, blown back out of the doorway, but otherwise unharmed. When he crawled back inside, he saw that the woman the missing nin had been beating and raping while she cried out for help wasn't nearly so lucky.

Outrage and grief exploded from Naruto in a violent crimson storm. If only he hadn't stormed through that door so foolishly...

Forty-seven seconds ago he laid the woman's burnt remains on the ground.

Now, he would tear off the limbs and head of the man who had killed her after he defiled her so viciously.

Naruto roared, and with one chakra-enhanced leap, jumped on top of Okibi's back, slamming him into the ground.

"DIE!"

The missing-nin cried out, wetting himself while he screamed for his mother.

But Naruto wouldn't be denied, he would have _vengeance_! With tremendous force he sank his clawed hands into the man's shoulders.

Uzumaki Naruto _always_ kept his promises.

Yugito arrived thirty seconds later, and it took all of her battle-hardened experience not to lose the contents of her stomach at the sight in front of her.

"Naruto…" She spoke softly, calmer than she felt. "What happened?"

The boy had his back turned to his teacher, and turned slowly. Behind Naruto, the torso of the newly minted missing-nin from Suna lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood, his severed limbs haphazardly thrown to the sides. On one of the arms a hand was still twitching slightly, not accepting its severed connection to the rest of its body.

Yugito gasped inwardly as Naruto finally faced her. Blood coated the front of his clothes and his features. He grinned as he held up his gruesome trophy.

"Here is the head you wanted, Yugito-sensei."

Naruto grinned maniacally; with voice distorted in a mockery of its normal cheery self, he threw the conquest at her feet. On it, Okibi's features were forever locked in sheer terror.

Bloodlust sated, Naruto's red aura faded out and the widened whisker marks narrowed back to their original size. His glowing red eyes reverted back to cerulean blue and with a shuddering breath; Naruto fell forwards, passed out.

Yugito caught him before he hit the dirt and stared at him for many moments more.

'The Destroyer…' The Nekomata inside of Yugito whispered, and somehow, the Jounin didn't think the title did it justice. Whether she was thinking of the raging demon itself, or the berserker fury her student had displayed, Yugito would never know.

* * *

Chapter end. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Rrrrrrraptorlicious! (Cornuthaum), Kelenas.

Note: Thank you for the reviews, I'd very much like to see some more.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 05:**

* * *

"-I think it really would be best if I were to examine him."

"No, he'll be fine, he didn't sustain any injuries."

"But the blood, are you saying…"

"None of it is his... now if you'll excuse us, I need to talk to my student. It seems he's waking up."

"…as you wish, Nii-san."

Naruto groaned as his awareness flooded back to him in waves of bright light and noise. His eyelashes fluttered frantically to adjust his visions against the glow of several halogen lamps on the ceiling and he barely caught the outline of a white-robed figure who stepped out of the room he found himself in, closing the door with a soft click.

"Awake at last, Naruto." A familiar voice called out to him to his right and he swivelled his head to focused his sight on Yugito, seated on a simple stool next to a hospital bed.

_His_ bed.

"Wha… what happened?" He asked, rubbing his scalp slowly as he sat up, the sheet that covered him sliding down his chest. "Where are we?"

Yugito assessed him for a moment. "As for the first thing, I was going to ask you the same thing. As for the second…" She smiled. "You're in Hidden Sand."

Naruto looked at his teacher, puzzled. "That's…" He cleared his throat and swallowed with visible discomfort. "Can I have some water?"

"Sure." Yugito nodded and uncrossed her legs to rise on her feet. "Wait here, and I'll be right back."

Naruto watched her leave through the same door he had seen the white-robed figure disappear through. Silence reigned in the small room Naruto had found himself in, it was quite disorienting. How come he was in Sunagakure already?

"What happened…" He whispered to himself.

A small bed-side table, aside from the stool next to his bed were the only things worth of note in the room. Only a few bland pictures covered the white-washed walls, and instead of a window, there were only lamps, their constant buzzing slowly starting to aggravate him.

Naruto's head snapped up at the sound of Yugito reappearing and with a muttered thanks, took the glass filled with water she gave him. While he gulped it down, the Jounin took her seat once more and stared at him.

"So?" She asked, taking the empty glass from him when he finished drinking and set it down beside her with a dull clink.

"I-I don't know…" He started in muted tones, then coughed. "I remember the village, and the inn. You asking me to check upstairs and… and…"

Naruto's eyes widened, and unbeknownst to him, his whisker marks began to grow darker and broader. Red filtered through his vision as he_remembered_.

"There was a woman and…!"

Yugito gripped his chin with an unbreakable hold and forced him to look at her.

"Calm down, Naruto." She stated coolly.

Naruto was about to scream at her, until he took a moment to realize exactly who he was about to do it to. Shame and grief filled his eyes. "I… I'm sorry, Yugito-sensei." He apologized sincerely.

"That's okay, Naruto." Yugito allowed a minute of silence before she spoke up again. "What happened to the woman?"

"I saw… I saw…" Naruto stammered, wishing he had never seen it all. "He was doing things to her, beating her and… she was naked…"

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Naruto." Yugito looked sympathetic. "Do you remember anything else?"

The boy shook his head. "There was an explosion but after that… no…"

"Naruto..." Yugito reached over to grab his arm. "You lost control, pure and simple."

"I was... I was so angry..." He bit his lip and felt his stomach contract in a tight ball as he remembered the woman's unmoving body. "If I hadn't burst through that door she would never have...!"

"What you saw was a depraved act of a coward, Naruto. You tried to help her, and he only proved his cowardice by showing no regard for her life. It. Wasn't. Your. Fault." Yugito shook her head, punctuating each word with increasing pressure on his limb. "But you can't let such things influence you so heavily. You _must_ be able to keep a cool head and think things through. Not only for the sake of yourself, but your allies as well."

Naruto remained silent, knowing she was right but unable to shake off the feeling that the woman in the inn might still be alive if only he had been more careful.

"I guess that's yet another thing we'll need to work on, huh?" Yugito shook him slightly, trying to bring a spark of levity into the oppressive atmosphere. "You can't lose control so easily, or else I'll wonder just why I'm teaching you at all."

"How am I going to make sure I don't? I... I can't help it!" He croaked and entwined his fingers into the sheet pooled in his lap.

Yugito's mysterious smile took him by surprise, and her following words even more so. "I think, soon, we're going to have a talk with Kyuubi."

Naruto stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Don't worry about it for now, just get some more sleep. Tomorrow we'll meet with the Kazekage, after all." She stood up and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll wake you up in the morning."

"But what about that missing-nin, did we...?"

"Sleep."

The boy's mouth clamped shut, then nodded, sensing that his sensei would not talk about it further, and feeling uncommonly drained. Thankfully, as Yugito left the room, he soon fell into a dreamless slumber, unburdened by what he had seen.

* * *

As promised, the next morning, though Naruto couldn't quite tell due to the windowless room, Yugito woke him for their meeting with the Kazekage. Apparently, he had been taken directly to the hospital of Sunagakure. They had kept him overnight for observation, even though there was nothing physically wrong, acting under the Kazekage's orders.

"I'm telling you, nothing's wrong with me!" Naruto growled, waving off the third medic-nin who tried to examine him after he had taken advantage of one of the hospital's many wash rooms to freshen up.

Yugito had informed him that his clothes had been taken to get cleaned, or burned, depending if the former couldn't be done. Naruto was definitely more than unhappy about it. The deep blue, knee-length shorts and t-shirt he had on fit him alright, but they were definitely not his colour. At least he was able to slip into his own sandals. But did they really have to take his forehead protector, too? What the hell had he done that required such an extensive cleaning anyway?

He shook his head and growled once again at the doctor approaching him with glowing hands to perform a diagnostic jutsu. "Look, I don't need you to tell me I'm okay, I already know!"

The medic-nin looked apprehensive, but nodded all the same. "Very well, Uzumaki-san, if that is your wish."

"Yeah..." Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Thanks anyway."

The doctor, all but his features hidden by a white robe, smiled congenially. "If you are feeling well enough, Kazekage-sama has expressed his wish to see you as soon as possible."

"Right, see ya around!"

Naruto bowed and gave a quick wave before running out the sliding doors of Sunagakure's hospital.

As soon as he stepped outside, he noted the heat and squinted his eyes against the bright sun rising in the sky. It was quite uncomfortable compared to the air-conditioned interior of the building he had just left.

"They finally released you, huh?" Yugito spoke up to his left, startling him slightly.

"Yugito-sensei!" He exclaimed and walked over to her.

She was leaning against the sun-bleached walls of the hospital and grinned slightly. "About time, I was getting bored, you know."

"Hehe, sorry." Naruto smiled apologetically. "Three doctors tried to use those weird techniques on me, but I'm fine. Besides, Tsunade-obaa-chan and Shizune-nee-chan are the only ones who I'll allow to do that!"

"The Hokage, huh?" Yugito blinked and moved to stand up normally.

"Yup!"

"Heh." The platinum-blonde tapped her black-painted lips in amusement. "Alright, enough talk. Are you alright? Feeling up for meeting the Kazekage?"

"Yeah, I guess so..." Naruto began uncertainly. "I think I am." He said, referring to the memories of yesterday and then focused on her other question to take his mind off of it. "I'm a little nervous though, I've never met the Kazekage before."

"Oh, don't worry, Naruto." Yugito turned so the boy couldn't see the amusement on her features and strode calmly down the road leading from the hospital with Naruto in tow. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

* * *

Suna was weird, Naruto affirmed to himself as they made their way to the Kazekage tower. The structures that made up the village were so unlike those from Konoha that they might as well have been alien. He didn't quite understand how anyone could live in a never-ending sea of yellows and grey and everything in between. Where was the greenery? Couldn't the Shinobi just plant some trees and grass and make sure it stayed alive through the use of water techniques?

Naruto supposed it had its own beauty though, the crowded myriad of buildings made for a very interesting maze, one he wouldn't mind exploring one day. A multitude of people crawled through busy streets like ants, but he had enough sense to know that a large number of Shinobi flitted across the rooftops, keeping a careful eye on everything that happened. Including Yugito and himself.

They were certainly getting enough odd looks from the villagers for being foreign. There was no open hostility, just a guarded awareness of their presence that spoke volumes of the population's dedication to their ninja lifestyle.

After spending at least twenty minutes - Naruto wasn't sure, it could be more - walking calmly through downtown Sunagakure, they neared the Kazekage tower. They crossed the large plaza at the base of the huge structure that literally towered over the surrounding buildings, and arrived at two imposing arched doors. The only visible guards were two male Shinobi, their eyes silently appraising their presence Still, Naruto was sure that many more were hidden well enough so he couldn't see or sense them, ready at a moments notice to intercept any possible attackers.

"Nii Yugito and Uzumaki Naruto." The guard on the left spoke up in a rumbling voice, fitting for his large frame.

"That's right." Yugito said, clamping a hand on her student's shoulder and reaching, slowly as though to indicate no hostile intent, in her sash to extract the scroll they had received the day before.

The guard on the right took the offered scroll and read it silently. "You have completed the mission?" He spoke at length and stared at Naruto a moment before focusing on Yugito.

She inclined her head. "The remains have been handed over to the hidden Sand's main bounty office."

"Very well." The guard on the left nodded to his counterpart and as one, the two stepped aside. "You may enter."

Yugito bowed and placed a hand on the door to open it. Naruto followed her lead, and he was surprised to feel a slight tingling sensation shoot throughout his body.

"Just a simple detection jutsu, Naruto." Yugito explained to his unspoken question and stepped inside. "To make sure we really are who we say we are."

"Oh, right." Naruto mumbled.

Leaving the two guards behind, the duo entered the main hall of the tower and were greeted by a rather slender, bespectacled man who bowed in their direction. "Yugito-san, Naruto-san, my name is Atsushi. If you would please follow me, I will take you to the visitor's hall immediately."

Yugito grinned. "Lead on."

Naruto was slightly intimidated by all the proceedings so far. Whenever he had entered the Hokage's tower, there was nothing like this to contend with. Perhaps it was just because they were from another Shinobi village.

Atsushi led them up a broad set of stairs that seemed to wind up, hugging the inside of the tower until the very top, only breaking now and again whenever it approached the next floor. Naruto counted five before Atsushi lead them down a hallway to finally enter a large circular room dominated by a round, stone table placed in its centre.

"Please wait here, I will inform Kazekage-sama of your presence right away. Help yourself to anything you wish."

"Thanks!" Naruto smiled bright, having spotted a variety of fruits, meats and drinks displayed on another table against the wall already.

Yugito frowned when Naruto didn't hesitate at all to sample everything he saw. "Naruto, show some restraint." Her tone turned sly. "A future Hokage should, in any case."

Naruto gulped down a mouthful of water and paled. "O-okay." He set down the large piece of mutton he was going to devour next and wiped his hands on one of the napkins set aside for such situations. His stomach growled in protest.

"I didn't mean you should stop eating, just don't shove three different things into your mouth at the same time. You haven't had anything yet since yesterday afternoon." Yugito sighed. "Don't you have any manners at all?" She asked, aggravated.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, grinned broadly and shrugged, then returned to the meat he had wanted to consume before Yugito told him off.

"Well, just don't stuff it all in your face, okay? What would the Kazekage say if he saw you eating this way?"

"Mmfmmmhm!" Naruto answered, mouth full and munching happily.

Yugito rolled her eyes and sighed again, opting to sit down and just wait for the arrival of the hidden Sand's leader instead of debating an obvious lost cause when it came to etiquette over eating.

* * *

"Man, where is he?" Naruto whined, making his fingers "walk" across the dull grey of the stone table while he waited for what seemed ages.

"Patience, Naruto." Yugito instructed. Leaned back and with eyes closed, she seemed to take the wait a lot better than her student. "Being a Kage is a time-consuming job, I'm sure he has a lot more to take care of besides meeting us."

"…I'm bored."

"Well then, go eat some more." Yugito glanced over to the buffet table. "Oh, that's right, you ate it all." She grimaced. "Glutton."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. "It was tasty! And… I was hungry."

"You just have a black hole for a stomach, simple as that." Yugito shot back easily.

The younger blonde scowled, and he was about to start drumming his fingers noisily to annoy his teacher. Before he even moved his hand though, Yugito sat up straighter, all business, and motioned for Naruto to do the same.

Naruto had barely straightened his back before the doors to the visitor's room opened with a faint creak, revealing…

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, hopping up from his seat and bounding over to the redhead in question.

Gaara strode into the room, draped in white cloth and with eyes like calculating chips of jade that took in all of the details with minute scrutiny. He focused on the energetic blonde moving towards him and couldn't help but lift the corner of his mouth in a very light smile.

"Uzumaki Naruto." His monotone gave Naruto pause and the leaf-nin halted in front of him.

"Hey Gaara." The boy lifted his arm and scratched the back of his head nervously. "It's… It's been a while, huh?"

"Yes."

Yugito watched the proceedings with amusement. She hadn't seen Naruto flustered very often, and this proved quite a treat.

A long moment passed, in which Naruto grew increasingly uneasy. Gaara kept an even stare until he flashed an honest smile that disappeared so quickly, Yugito and Naruto wondered if it had happened at all.

"It is good to see you." Gaara said in an even tone and reached out his hand.

Naruto grinned and grasped the offered hand and shook it vigorously. "Same here, Gaara."

Gaara averted his eyes to take in the form of Yugito, who stood up immediately and joined the two.

"You are Nii Yugito." He stated flatly.

To Naruto's amazement, Yugito bowed deeply. "It is an honour to finally meet you, Kazekage-sama."

"…" Naruto's jaw literally dropped open. His eyes raced franticly between his teacher and the apparent leader of the hidden Sand. Of course, he reacted in the only way that seemed logical.

"WHAT?!" He pointed at Gaara who stared the finger for a brief second before focusing on Naruto. "YOU'RE the Kazekage?!"

Not shaken in the least, Gaara responded. "Yes."

"I told you, Naruto. You had nothing to be worried about." Yugito chuckled.

Naruto was absolutely lost for words. "How in the… How… Eh?!"

"Gaara-sama was inaugurated as the fifth Kazekage a little over a month ago." The Jounin explained, to which the redhead nodded.

Quickly scrambling to regain his composure, Naruto's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. "Kazekage…" He whispered more to himself than anyone else. He spun on his heels and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Man… You became Kage before me…"

Yugito opened her mouth to voice her disappointment in Naruto's behaviour, but he once again took her by surprise.

He faced them once again, a sincere look of approval on his face. "Gaara… I'm really happy for you."

"Naruto…" Gaara blinked. "Thank you."

* * *

"So where are your brother and sister?" Naruto chirped as Gaara led the two down the streets of Sunagakure.

Gaara seemed to contemplate his question. "Kankuro is out on a mission and Temari is… recovering from her Jounin examination."

"Wow, she made Jounin already?" Naruto asked, amazed, though he thought to himself that that shouldn't be too surprising if her little brother had already become Kazekage.

"No." Gaara deadpanned. "She failed."

"Oh." The blonde looked put out for a moment, glancing at Yugito who simply shrugged, until he grinned brightly. "Well, there's always next time, right?"

Gaara shot him a look that Naruto couldn't quite identify. "Perhaps." He murmured, averting his eyes.

The trio travelled for several minutes in silence, the villagers and ninjas they saw along the way bowing in respect. Naruto's mind swam with visions of the same happening to him in Konoha.

Yugito's respectful tone snapped him fully awake again.

"Kazekage-sama… Have you received word from Jiraiya-sama?"

"Yes." Gaara affirmed. "He will arrive in nine days."

"I see." Yugito brushed several stray strands of her platinum-blonde hair from her forehead. "I thought he would arrive sooner, though."

Naruto was well acquainted to the possible reasons for Jiraiya's delay. He turned to Gaara, his voice grave. "Put your bathhouses on full alert." He warned. "He's a big pervert. It wouldn't surprise me if he were already here peeping on naked women."

Gaara frowned slightly, as if seriously considering the threat, and nodded. "Very well."

Yugito coughed and hid a grin behind her fist. "I'm sure it's not that bad, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara noted Naruto's disbelieving stare and shook his head. "Voyeurism and lewd conduct in public are prohibited."

The Kunoichi had to fight hard not to erupt in a fit of laughter. The sight of two teens plotting against possible perverted actions of the great toad sage Jiraiya was simply too much to take.

"So, where are you taking us anyway, Gaara?" Naruto asked. He was curious since the redhead had simply told them to follow him before disappearing from the visitor's room back in the Kazekage tower.

"To my home."

Yugito and Naruto stared at him.

"Uhm, don't you have more work to do? Like fill out mission reports and stuff?" Naruto inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Tsunade-obaa-chan always has some lying around."

"I am the Kazekage." Gaara stated as if it explained everything.

Over in Konohagakure, vast piles of paperwork were stacked on a large desk in the middle of the Hokage's office. Hidden behind those piles that never seemed to diminish, sat Tsunade who was scribbling at a furious rate just to keep up with the multitude of reports, treaty requests and other things coming in.

'Just a little more... Just a little more...' Her eyes had a frantic look in them. 'My precious sake, I'm coming for you!'

Shizune had promised her that she would pay for Tsunade's bar-tab that night. But only if she managed to complete a large chunk of the paperwork. Tsunade smiled at the thought, until, quite suddenly, she paused.

'Oh no.'

Her nose twitched with an itch that couldn't be denied, nor could the reaction be that followed. Her amber eyes scrunched closed and she inhaled sharply to let out a loud and powerful sneeze.

The stacks of paperwork, painstakingly arranged by herself and her aide, Shizune, scattered like leaves in the wind.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched for several moments. Then, without warning, she began sobbing in earnest at the loss of the precious paperwork she had completed already and the reward that would have followed.

Shizune entered the office a few seconds later, hugging a small, pink pig to her chest. "T-Tsunade-sama, what happened?!" She stuttered.

Tonton let out a low squeal as if asking the same thing.

The fifth Hokage paid them no heed, too lost in her own misery.

* * *

"Your house is so big, Gaara!"

"He's the Kazekage, Naruto. You didn't think they'd put him in a small apartment, did you?"

Naruto flushed, glaring at Yugito. "No, of course not!" He denied desperately. "I'm just saying it's big!"

And he was right, Yugito noted. After another half hour, with Gaara showing some of the sights of Sunagakure, they entered the main residential district, reserved for high-ranking Shinobi, nobles and those on the council. Gaara's house, where the Kazekage lived with their families during their respective tenures as leaders, seemed the most grand, and expensive of them all.

The luxurious sheen of treated Fire Country oak planted on a solid foundation of the finest export ware of the Land of Earth, the famed – and sparkly – golden granite provided the framework for an unusual sight within the bounds of Sunagakure. The opulent and magnificently coloured shingled roof was a testament of both arrogance and wealth, brazenly making the house stand out to any who would be foolish enough to attack the lord of these lands, yet, at the same time, making it clear that the Kazekage could well afford being easy to spot by virtue of being one of the five most powerful people in the world.

Still, there was no denying its beauty. Regular patrols of Suna-nin strolled through the large garden surrounding the residence. It even sported a large fountain surrounded by a variety of plants in it's spacious – no, enormous – courtyard. Yugito recognized some of these plants, wondering why the Kazekage felt the need to keep these rare and fickle things alive. The courtyard and the plants were as much of a testament to the power of its owner as the house itself was when one considered the need for space and water in these parts.

She had to wonder, though, if there was a point to this and, more importantly, if the current Kazekage cared about this show of wealth as much as his predecessors had. Yet, somehow she knew that Gaara had no need to pose. The boy, after all, was the prime example of stoic indifference in the face of life.

"Father wanted us to live here." Gaara said quietly, before leading them inside, sliding aside the rice-paper door that led into the structure. "I do not like it very much." He admitted and disappeared from view.

Naruto and Yugito shared a look, and followed suit. Once they moved inside, and took off their sandals in respect, Gaara was waiting, ready to give them a brief tour of the house. By the end, Naruto's head was spinning. A lot of the space was... redundant, mainly there to keep visiting dignitaries happy. There was a large dining room, outfitted with expensive wooden furniture. It was kept in good shape, but once again Gaara said he didn't care much for it, preferring to have his meals in the kitchen with his brother and sister. There was a large office, which rivalled the one Naruto remembered back in the Hokage tower, with large cabinets filled to the brim with scrolls of all sizes and age, and a desk that was just criminal in size.

Only when Gaara led Naruto and Yugito to the kitchen and living room, did they note that there were actual people living here, and this wasn't some kind of museum. There was actually a trophy room, filled with a plethora of weapons and armours. All of which had been obtained in battle by the previous four Kazekage, or so Gaara said.

It was only when the three moved upstairs onto a large landing, using a staircase in the living room, which in turn led to a long hallway, that they finally met one of the other residents.

A teenage girl, dressed in a royal purple shift and with sandy blonde hair done up in four puffy pigtails stepped out of, what Naruto assumed was, her bedroom, curious about the visitors.

"Temari." Gaara spoke calmly. "You are feeling well?" If he was offended by her terse nod and lack of verbal reply, he didn't show it. He continued on, tilting his head slightly towards the two visitors. "These are Uzumaki Naruto and Nii Yugito, they will be staying here."

Yugito narrowed her eyes at Temari's reaction to their presence. As soon as she had spotted them, the girl tensed up immediately. And as the girl's gaze remained fixed on Naruto's face, she doubted that she was the cause of her distress.

Of course, Naruto was completely oblivious to the discomfort and called out congenially. "Hey, Temari! How are you doing?"

Yugito shook her head, but Naruto didn't seem perturbed.

"Gaara told me about the Jounin-exam, but don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll do better next time!"

The young woman appraised him for several seconds, her brow knitting together in a scowl before she managed to school her features into an emotionless mask. She shot a final look at Yugito then stepped back into her room without a word in response.

"What's with her?" Naruto's eyebrows lifted after a pause. "Did I do something?"

"…your backpacks have been put in your rooms." Gaara informed them, motioning towards the end of the hallway and ignoring the blonde's questions entirely. "You may stay as long as you wish."

Yugito bowed, as if nothing had happened. "Thank you Kazekage-sama, we will try to live up to the trust you have placed in us."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully, eyes narrowed. What had been Temari's problem? Maybe she was just upset about failing her exam? He shrugged, focused on Gaara and grinned. "So, _Kazekage-sama_... Do you know where I can get any ramen around here?"

* * *

Chapter end.

(Omake below.)

* * *

**Chapter 05 – Omake (Scene one):**

* * *

It was late at night when Yugito snuck back into Naruto's room. She had tried to control herself, but there was a full moon tonight and that always did… odd things to her.

'Do not fight it, my kitten…' The Nibi purred in her mind.

"No…" Yugito shook her head, and closed the door behind her. "I musn't…"

Naruto, who had been sleeping peacefully up to that point, stirred at her entrance.

"Nnn…? Yugito-sensei?"

"Shhhh." The female jinchuuriki lifted a slender finger in front of her black-painted lips.

Naruto rubbed his eyes groggily. As tired as he was, he didn't even question her attire, leopard print, thigh-high stockings, elbow-length gloves and matching bra and panties, along with a… tail? And were those actual cat-ears twitching atop her head?

She stalked her way over to him, instead of her usual ponytail, she had let her platinum-blonde, waist-length hair loose and it swayed gently with every step.

"Wha… what's going on?"

Instead of answering, Yugito purred and climbed onto his bed.

"Yugito-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed when she ripped the sheet away from him.

"Oh Naruto-kun, I can't resist, I must have you!" She crooned, leaning down to nuzzle his neck.

"What the hell?!"

"TAKE ME! TAKE ME NOW, NARUTO-KUN!" Yugito yelled breathlessly, tearing her bra from her chest. "GIVE ME YOUR BABIES!"

"NOOOOO!!" Naruto yelled, now wide awake and trying to stifle his nose-bleed while simultaneously trying to prevent her from reducing his t-shirt to shreds. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS STUFF!"

Yugito leaped on top of him, articles of clothing flying every which way. "Ahn! You're so cute when you play hard to get, Naruto-kun! Come to your Yugito-sensei, she'll teach you all you need to know!"

Unnoticed by the two the room door opened once again, revealing two members of Sunagakure Hospital's staff as they tried to find the source of all the commotion.

The first medic-nin stared at the odd sight of Yugito ravishing Naruto, who was screaming something about perverted teachers finally coming to get him, for several moments before sighing. "We'd better call pest-control."

He turned to his colleague who nodded. "Nothing worse than a cat girl infestation."


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas, Cornuthaum.

Note: Thank you for the reviews. This chapter (and the resulting events) are somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine, and it's an homage to someone who got me interested in Naruto fan fiction and got me to write in the first place.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 06:**

* * *

"Soooo…" Naruto cleared his throat uncomfortably and coughed.

Temari ignored him, intently focused on her cup of tea.

The boy fidgeted in his seat, reached for his own cup on the breakfast table and took a small sip.

Yugito had to bite back a snort of laughter when she heard him slurp unintentionally.

"Uhm, so… W-what have you been up to, Temari?" He asked nervously.

It was almost painfully cute to see Naruto so flustered by another female.

"Not a lot." Came the even reply.

The girl was good, Yugito thought to herself as she watched the interaction between the two. Or lack thereof, rather. She still wasn't sure if Temari was angry with Naruto for something, or just unhappy with their presence.

"Right." Naruto stared into his tea as if it might save him from his predicament.

After a short breakfast, Gaara had left early to attend to his duties as Kazekage, and abandoning Naruto and Yugito, leaving them at the tender mercies of Temari. A girl who didn't seem too keen on the idea of playing hostess to the two visitors.

Yugito stretched languidly in her seat. She smacked her lips lightly and focused on Gaara's sibling. "Temari-san, your brother told me that my student and I would be allowed to use your village's facilities for Naruto's training. Would you perhaps be able to guide us to an unoccupied training field?"

Plastering a serene smile on her face, Yugito weathered Temari's stare without any difficulty. The girl's emerald eyes flicked to Naruto, then turned back to the Kumo-nin.

"Of course."

"Great!" Yugito clapped her hands together and winked. "Let's head out after we've finished our drinks, shall we?"

Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, silently thanking his teacher.

* * *

Barely half an hour later, the trio stood in the middle of training field forty-five, just a few minutes walking distance from the Kazekage residence. It was small, and judging by the pockmarks on the wooden dummies arrayed on one end of the barren field, it was mainly used for target practice. Which was fine as far as Yugito was concerned, she only wanted to do some light sparring with her student.

She ignored the teasing remarks from the Nibi over the increasing ease with which she kept referring to Naruto as _her_ student.

Yugito fought a grin as she led Naruto through a series of light warm-ups and stretches.

"Don't mind Temari, Naruto." She muttered as she leaned over to touch her toes from a sitting position.

Naruto nodded, mirroring her.

"Just focus on me."

Despite her words, Naruto's eyes kept drifting towards the pigtailed Kunoichi, and couldn't stop wondering what her problem was.

Temari sat next the target dummies, leaning easily against one and looking very much like she didn't want to be here. Leaving two foreign ninjas in her village unattended, however, was not an option. She would have let any other Suna-nin do it for her, but that meant defying Gaara. The two visitors were her responsibility. Or at least until Kankuro's return.

She had never wanted for her brother to be here as much as now.

'Why are they here?' Temari fumed in her mind, tightening her hands into fists as Yugito and Naruto finished their stretches and began sparring in earnest. '_He_ shouldn't be here yet!' She watched Naruto duck under and weave around several blows, throwing in his own whenever he could. 'It's too soon!'

Her thoughts raged for minutes more, as did the spar with Naruto's exclamations carrying over to Temari's ears.

"Nngh!" Naruto grunted as he deflected Yugito's outstretched leg, aimed for his stomach, to the side. He quickly shot back a kick of his own, only for his teacher to block it easily with her lower arm. She followed up quickly with a flurry of punches that Naruto barely managed to block and dodge.

Yugito clucked her tongue as Naruto jumped back instead of countering with his own attacks. "No time for a breather, Naruto." She admonished, moving after him and twisting herself to nail him with a roundhouse kick in the ribs.

"Ack!" Naruto grimaced in pain, clutching his side and hunching over slightly. "I thought this was a light spar!"

"Unless you're going to get serious about using the style I'm teaching you, I'm not going to hold myself to the rules either." Yugito sounded almost bored, carelessly lashing out in his direction.

Naruto scowled but held his tongue, once again keeping himself in close quarters with his teacher. So far his trip into the Wind country was a nightmare. From the horrible mission with the death of an innocent to Temari's odd attitude towards him. He didn't even know what he had done to deserve it, she should have been happy with Gaara's change!

Unknowingly, he began swinging punches wildly, his eyes turning a dull purple.

"No." Yugito said simply, and smashed a fist into Naruto's cheek.

The boy spun like a top with the force of the blow, spraying blood from his mouth as he crashed into the ground.

"Keep your emotions in check, Naruto." Yugito frowned and her tone betrayed disappointment. She stepped closer, towering over him with her hands casually on her hips. "If you don't learn how to do that, my time with you is wasted."

Naruto cradled his face, eyes squeezed tight. He gave a muffled curse and squinted up at his sensei. "I'm sorry." He muttered, turning his head to spit out a glob of blood.

"Focus, and keep unnecessary thoughts out of your mind." Yugito offered him a hand to help him stand up, which he took. "Now let's try this again."

The short exchange did not go unnoticed by Temari, who looked surprised at the brutal interruption. She had sensed the increase of Naruto's chakra, even though it did not seem natural. It was exactly like during the fight between Gaara and Naruto. Temari watched the rest of the session in continuing silence, one thought on her mind.

'So it's true…'

* * *

Just over ten hours later, Naruto had bid farewell to Yugito and Temari as he went to look for one of the few ramen stands in Sunagakure. Today's training had been unpleasant, partially because Yugito admitted herself disappointed in Naruto's lack of control. Understandable as it might have been, his rage prevented him from thinking clearly and actually using the skills she taught him. And the Kumo-nin had not been kidding around when she said they were going to work on his self-control.

It had taken two more punches in the face before Naruto had managed to clear his head completely of his thoughts of the mission and Temari's attitude towards him. And although effective, Yugito told him in no uncertain terms that she was going to show him some basic meditation techniques and he had better make sure to learn them quickly, lest she stop training him altogether.

Naruto really didn't want that to happen. Aside from Jiraiya, she had been the only one to actually teach him any jutsu at all. Or anything else for that matter. He had been finally improving to the point where he didn't feel he would need to draw on the Kyuubi's power during a fight. But seeing that defenceless woman and what that missing-nin was doing to her. Her eyes pleading for help…

The boy blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. He looked to the left and spotted the small ramen stand, Gaara had assured him was the finest in all of Suna. Actually, one of the ninja who had scouted the village for it on their Kazekage's behalf had done so, since Gaara didn't have much experience with this particular dish, but to Naruto it was the thought that counted.

Naruto was getting depressed again, and there was no better cure for that than ramen.

He moved closer to the stand, lifting the cloth flaps and stepping up to the counter. Despite its outward appearance, it was kept in tiptop shape. The wooden finish of the counter top gleamed under several tastefully arranged shaded lamps that hung overhead. The owner, a tall man, with grey flecking his brown hair and beard, waved at his latest costumer. His only customer. It seemed Naruto's favourite food wasn't too popular in these parts.

"Welcome! What can I do for you today, young man?" The owner called out pleasantly, motioning for Naruto to take a seat.

The boy plunked himself on one of the empty stools and grinned. "Heya! I'd like two beef, one shrimp and a pork! And keep them coming!"

The older man blinked at the order, then peered at Naruto intently. Or more to the point, the spiky, golden mop of hair on top of Naruto's head. "Say, boy…"

"Hmm?" Naruto tilted his head. "What is it?"

"…Your name wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto, would it?"

It was Naruto's turn to blink. "Uh… yeah?"

To his horror, the man buried his face into the crook of his elbow, sobbing. "Kami-sama be praised!" He exclaimed, voice thick with emotion. "My prayers have been answered!"

"…" Naruto's mouth hung open, quite unsure of what to make of this.

The owner lowered his arm, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Alright, Uzumaki Naruto! I will make for you the best ramen you have ever tasted! Ichiraku's number one customer deserves no less!"

The blonde's eyebrows rose. "You know Ichiraku?"

"Of course! Teuchi-san is my cousin! We trained under the same master, in fact. Always has Teuchi-san praised your legendary hunger for the best food in the world, saving Ichiraku Ramen from the bring of financial disaster! To think you would honour my humble stand with your presence… I… I am overwhelmed!"

"Uh…" Naruto was a little overwhelmed himself as well.

"Please, call me Takano! I will get to work right now, please look forward to it!"

"Uhm… okay!" Naruto still wasn't sure what the heck was going on, but at least his voracious appetite was being praised for once.

He waited patiently while Takano set about in his small kitchen, eagerly cooking up the supposed best ramen Naruto would ever taste. The boy watched, amused and cheering when ingredients began flying around, until finally, a bowl was set reverently before him.

"It…" Naruto stammered, sniffling at the beef flavoured ramen with various toppings strewn atop it. "It's beautiful…"

It had been so long since he had last consumed his favourite foodstuff. Shakily, he grabbed a set of chopsticks from a large bundle in a round container and snapped them apart.

"L-let's eat!"

Takano watched intently, hands twitching when Naruto fished out a sizeable amount of noodles from the bowl and lifted it to his lips. The boy blew softly to cool it slightly and put it in his mouth, then chewed slowly, savouring the taste.

"H-how is it?" Takano whispered when Naruto swallowed visibly.

Naruto let out a deep, grunting breath, nodding thoughtfully. "The texture of the noodles and the temperature and flavour of the broth are excellent. But… it is not the best I have tasted." He lowered his eyes and ducked his head. "I'm sorry."

The owner shook his fist. "Very well! I shall persevere and make it for you yet! Naruto, let's keep going!"

Naruto grinned, already inhaling the rest of the ramen at a rapid pace. "Alright!" He shouted happily, muffled though it was with the noodles filling his mouth.

Seventeen bowls later, Naruto had waved goodbye to Takano, promising to return to continue their quest for the best flavoured ramen he had ever tasted. Although slightly disappointed by his failure, it had only strengthened Takano's resolve to perform better, something Naruto encouraged. But the blonde knew that he would never get it here. Although definitely on par with Ichiraku's, nothing would ever taste as good as the first time the third Hokage had taken Naruto to eat ramen with him. Perhaps it was just the memory, but the taste of that bowl, eaten while in the presence of that friendly old man, would never be attained again.

So lost in his thoughts he was, that Naruto literally jumped a half a meter in the air when someone spoke his name directly behind him.

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, turning to face the redhead. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Gaara, although he had been calling Naruto for three times already, let it slide. "I am sorry."

"No, no." Naruto waved it off. "It's not your fault, I was just thinking." He glanced around at the deserted street he was wandering through on the way back to the Kazekage residence. "Uhm, what are you doing here anyway?"

Gaara stared at him. "I wanted to find you."

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto shrugged, resuming his steady pace. "Okay then, fair enough. What did you want to find me for?"

The other boy moved beside him. "I wanted to talk to you."

"O…kay…" Naruto still wasn't too used to Gaara's behavioural pattern. "What did you want to talk about?"

Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly. "I am… unsure."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "You must have something to say, right? Going out of your way to find me and all…"

"I was hoping…" Gaara stopped and began again. "The last time I was in the Leaf, I did not see you. I was remiss in doing so."

Naruto grimaced slightly as he remembered Shikamaru talking about the Sand siblings saving them all during their fights during the mission to save Sasuke. Who didn't want to be saved…

He cleared his throat. "That's fine, Gaara, I know you must have been busy and stuff, and you needed to get back to your own village."

Gaara shook his head. "I owe the Leaf… You… A large debt. I wish to repay it."

"Debt?"

The redhead nodded. "You… showed me that there was another way to be strong. You inspired me. I became Kazekage to protect my village and those important to me, like you will become Hokage."

There was no doubt in Gaara's voice when he said this, and Naruto was truly moved. To think that the boy he had fought during the Chuunin exams was influenced by him so greatly and believed that he would become Hokage…

Naruto smiled genuinely and slung an arm around Gaara's shoulders, startling him slightly. "There are no debts between friends, Gaara."

Gaara glanced sideways at the blonde. "You are a good friend, Uzumaki Naruto." He said after a slight pause.

"Ehehe…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "So are you!"

* * *

The next eight days passed quickly for Naruto. He spent most of his time going through the basics of the Suisei style with Yugito, steadily becoming more proficient in it. With no small amount of pride, Naruto managed to get the Raikou Shushou technique down to a non-lethal level as it was intended in the first place, as a result the Hekireki jutsu stopped blowing up in his face as well. The Kakuheki technique didn't quite tower as high as it did before either, instead becoming more compact and effective at shielding him from weapons and ninjutsu..

Nevertheless, his chakra-control exercises continued, drawing odd looks from passers-by whenever they saw him standing on his own man-made pool while he went through increasingly complex katas.

Yugito's instructions on his lack of control over his emotions, painful as they had been in the start were nonetheless effective. Whenever he would let his anger slip, she was quick to correct him with a swift punch in the face if need arose, or worse, while he worked on his meditation. When he experienced what it entailed first hand, Naruto had laughed, not seeing how pretending to be asleep was going to help him.

His teacher's resulting glare, however, spurred him on to try it anyway, although he actually did fall asleep on his first try. Unfortunately, it happened right next to Yugito, who was quick to wake him with a low level Raiton jutsu to the posterior.

Apart from training, he spent time with Gaara whenever he could. Mostly they spent it in companionable silence, and sometimes they spoke of their childhoods and experiences. Naruto was a bit shocked to learn how Gaara was treated when he was younger. Of course, Naruto had to deal with some attacks on his person, particularly around his birthday, but it had never been quite as severe. Not to mention there was always an ANBU member close at hand to keep things from escalating.

Other times, Gaara spoke about his siblings a lot, something which brought a smile to Naruto's face. They discussed the difficulties of being a Kage, along with the perks, even the slight fear Gaara held of letting his village down. That served to make Gaara all the more human in Naruto's eyes.

For his part, Naruto told the redhead all about his "awesome" fights – Gaara was very interested about how he saved Tsunade – and his own little _family_; Team Seven. Naruto shared his own fears on whether he was doing the right thing in going after Sasuke, something Gaara was undecided about as well. Gaara didn't know what he would have done in Naruto's stead, since the blonde truly considered Sasuke as a brother. He was impressed with Naruto's loyalty though and said as much, to the Genin's embarrassment.

The situation with Temari mellowed out after the first three days. While still not going out of her way to make Naruto feel particularly welcome, she at least did not ignore him anymore. He had tried to wheedle the reasons behind her behaviour from Gaara, but the redhead had remained silent, refusing to talk about it.

However, even Naruto could not remain painfully dense to the cause of her attitude towards him when he found out what exactly caused it on the day of Jiraiya's arrival. In fact, he had been surprised she had not attempted to outright kill him on the spot.

The day started normally. Well, at least as normal as things were in the Kazekage household. Gaara had taken the day off, and prepared a light breakfast of cold miso soup, rice, dried seaweed and pickles. Not many people knew, but Gaara liked to dabble in the arts of cooking now and again. After all, he had time to spare as a chronic insomniac. Yugito, Naruto and Temari joined him in the kitchen scant minutes after he had set out the bowls and plates on the kitchen table.

Breakfast had been peaceful, even with Naruto's glares and complaints about Gaara's rude manner to wake him and the sand in his clothes. At least it had been better than waking up to a shock from Yugito. He just knew that he would never be able to sleep in again for fear of electric currents shooting through his body if he did. Yugito had followed up on her promise of teaching him to awake early on his own, even if it did take three full weeks of conditioning to do so.

In Naruto's opinion his teacher was way too trigger-happy with her Raiton jutsu.

After breakfast, Yugito and Naruto were joined once again by Temari as they set about their daily training routine. Something which Naruto found rather odd, he wondered if Temari had nothing else to do. He had asked her before, but she had been tight-lipped about the subject, telling Naruto to mind his own business.

Gaara had gone off on his own into the desert, promising to be back home in the afternoon, and get some of his own training done. Although what he actually did in the vast expanse of scorching sands was beyond Naruto. He didn't think he'd be able to come up with anything too effective using sand, but he wasn't Gaara, or even a Suna-nin, so Naruto just assumed that the readhead had his reasons.

At several points though, Naruto thought he saw something rising above Sunagakure's impressive walls in the distance. At first he was about to dismiss it as tricks of light, until he realized it was Gaara at work out there, and the something was a gargantuan clawed arm made out of sand which cut through the air with ease. Naruto got a slightly bitter taste in his mouth at the display. If his fellow jinchuuriki could do something like _that_...

Naruto's eyes hardened.. Gaara was putting his all into becoming stronger to protect his village, so how could the blonde do any less? With renewed vigour he focused back on his sparring with Yugito which put a smile on her face and made her push him slightly harder than before.

When they finished somewhere late in the afternoon, receiving a yawn from Temari for their efforts, Yugito begged off, claiming she wanted to spend some time on her own as well. Naruto thought that was a little odd, seeing Jiraiya was supposed to stop by the hidden Sand today, but nodded all the same. That left Naruto and Temari to walk home together.

_Joy_.

"Man, I wonder when I'm going to get my clothes back already." Naruto muttered more to himself than anything. "If I have to wear clothes like this for much longer, I'm going to go insane." He said, pointing at his shorts and shirt, a different shade of blue this time than what he had first received after his short stay at Sunagakure Hospital.

Temari ignored him, glancing to her right at the various shops they passed by.

Naruto pouted at her lack of response. Quickly wiping it off of his face, he instead laced his fingers behind his head and grinned. "So, uh, you must be pretty proud of Gaara, huh?"

The girl twitched slightly, then tilted her head a little downwards to stare at Naruto's inquisitive features. She sighed, seemingly resigned. "Yeah, I am."

Naruto narrowed his cerulean orbs. "You don't _sound_ very proud."

Temari turned her attention to the shops again. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine, fine." Naruto should have expected it, but it still annoyed him that Temari just wouldn't talk to him normally. He tried again to find out about her reasons. "Did I do something to you, or something? 'Cause Sakura-chan sometimes beats me in the head if I've done something stupid which I don't remember."

Sighing once more, Temari spared him a look, seeing the true confusion. 'It's not his fault, but…'

Naruto cocked his head and let his arms drop to his sides. "Well?"

"No." Temari shook her head. "You haven't done anything."

"You just don't like me then?" He ventured.

They were forcefully parted when they dodged several kids chasing a dog, but Temari once again replied in the negative. "That's not it."

Naruto frowned for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Well, that's good, because I think you're cool. I saw you fight against Shikamaru back in the exams, and even though he's lazy, he's pretty tough to beat." He increased the pace of his footsteps. "Though you should smile more, you're going to give yourself wrinkles frowning about stuff so much."

Temari halted, not expecting that kind of banter.

Once he noticed that she wasn't moving, Naruto stopped as well and waved. "Oi, Temari, let's keep moving!"

"Y-yeah…" Temari mumbled.

* * *

"Hey brat!" Jiraiya called out congenially when Naruto and Temari stepped inside the living room.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto exclaimed, surprised to see his teacher here already, and took a seat beside him on one of the two sofa's.

"So how have you been?" Jiraiya laughed, tussling the blonde's hair.

Naruto scowled and flapped his hands at the offending limb to drive it away. "I've been fine! And you? Don't tell me you've only been conducting "research".

"Hah!" The sage winked at him, amused. "You just don't understand the beauty of a woman's form like I do, Naruto!"

"I do just fine, but not everyone is a pervert like you, ero-sennin!" Naruto objected, then blushed as he noticed Temari's inquisitive, raised eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

Jiraiya pointed at Gaara, seated on the other couch with Temari who sat down next to him. "Just been having a little chat with the Kazekage here." He looked at the girl. "You're Temari, right?"

Temari nodded, a little unsure what to make of Jiraiya.

"Hah, you've grown up into a fine Kunoichi!" The toad sage turned to Naruto and poked him with his elbow, winking slyly. "You lucky brat, you must be happy you're marrying her, right? Eh?"

As soon as he said that, everything just halted.

Temari's face grew ashen, and her breath hitched. Gaara's lips set into an even thinner line than normal and Naruto's jaw dropped.

Jiraiya began to get the idea he might have made a little mistake.

Naruto's eyes widened considerably and began to sputter. "W-what the hell?!"

"Uh…" Jiraiya glanced at Gaara, then Temari. "You didn't tell him?"

"No." Gaara answered, staring intently at Naruto.

The blonde did the only thing that seemed reasonable at the time.

He laughed.

"Hahaha!" Naruto smiled broadly. "Okay, that was a good one, ero-sennin, you nearly had me. Getting Gaara to play along was pretty good, too." He wiped away a few tears of mirth from the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Jiraiya laughed as well, although tonelessly. "Yeah, I was just kidding! Ha… haha…"

Gaara shattered the deception, standing up and pacing slightly. "No, he was not."

"Okay, come on Gaara. It's not funny anymore." Naruto did _not_ want to believe it.

"Naruto, you and Temari have been betrothed by the will of the Leaf and the Sand."

"…what the hell?!" Naruto repeated.

For the first time since entering the house, Temari spoke up, her voice soft and her face still pale. "We're betrothed."

"WE ARE WHAT?!"

Temari's unwavering stare betrayed none of the emotions she truly felt. "Betrothed, as in, going to get married."

"But… but!"

Temari threw her hands into the air and stalked up the stairs to the second floor and out of sight.

Naruto immediately turned to Gaara who now stood impassively in the corner of the room. "How could you, she's your sister!"

"It was nothing I could overturn." The redhead stated calmly, but the tendrils of sand that darted angrily on the floor near his feet betrayed the anger underneath his passive exterior.

"That doesn't matter! What if Temari doesn't want to, has anyone asked her, huh?!" The blonde shouted. "Did you just give up, Gaara?!"

"Naruto…" The boy felt a large hand clamp on his shoulder. "Sometimes, for the good of the villages, these things occur. Besides, you're crying about Temari maybe not wanting this, but what about you?"

Naruto snorted at that. "I'm angry, that's what! Why the hell wasn't I told, huh?! Don't I get a say in this?! What about Sakura-chan?!"

Jiraiya groaned and was about to speak, when Naruto beat him to the point.

"I-I mean, Temari's scary strong and she's pretty but…" Naruto shrugged helplessly. "I can't just force anyone to marry me and…" He pointed at his stomach.

"Naruto…" Jiraiya murmured. "I don't think…"

"Yeah, well, it's not what you think, ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled heatedly and balled his fists in impotent rage. "This isn't fair!" He exploded and ripped the sliding door leading to the hallway and the front door open with enough force to crack the woodwork and stomped into the village proper.

Jiraiya grimaced at Gaara who watched the blonde depart with narrowed eyes.

One floor up, unseen and unheard, Temari sat against the inside of her bedroom door. She hugged her knees to her chest, tracing the purple cloth of her shift listlessly. Temari had heard Naruto's reaction to the news, and played it over and over in her mind. While normally one of the most strong willed women in the Elemental Countries, she had never felt as scared and unsure as she did now.

When Temari had first heard about the plans to marry her off to a Leaf-nin, she too had thrown a fit of rage unlike any other. But in the end… for the sake of Gaara… she had accepted.

She thought about the consequences of what this might bring for over an hour more, and how Naruto must feel about it all. Even though he might not want to speak with her, she needed to know what he was thinking. Perhaps…

Temari left her remaining thoughts unfinished, and with her mind made up, she made her way back downstairs, ignoring Gaara, Jiraiya and Yugito who had joined the duo sometime during her pondering.

"I'm going out." She said simply.

The three said nothing in return, or perhaps they did, but Temari didn't pay any attention, there were more important things on her mind right now.

* * *

Naruto watched the sun drop beneath the horizon and sighed. It had been several hours since he had been informed of his betrothal to Temari. After his tirade, he had blindly made his way through Sunagakure. He didn't care where he was going, all he felt was anger. Anger for Temari's sake, but also for his own. What about his feelings for Sakura? Was he expected to just give up on them?

The blonde scoffed at that, and threw a pebble he picked up from the ground beside him into one of the few ponds he had found in the village.

The splash resounded especially loud now he was left alone with his thoughts.

Naruto never really liked that. He never wanted to be alone. All he wanted to do was to be around people he cared about. To be acknowledged. And those thoughts never failed to lead him to the source of his problems.

"God-damn fur ball… Why did you have to screw up my life…" He whispered to himself.

He lay an elbow on an upturned knee and grabbed another pebble, and with a brief jerk, made it skip across the calm water.

"You know, it's considered bad luck to throw anything but coins into that pond."

Naruto stiffened at the feminine voice. It was soft, but carried a hint of steel of someone who wouldn't be trifled with.

"Temari…" Naruto trailed off as he turned slightly to look at the girl behind him.

The Kunoichi let out a deep exhale as she sat down beside him.

"Temari, I…" He tried again, only to be cut off.

The girl pointed at the small body of water. "It was created by the first Kazekage himself, you know. Everyone who prays for good luck comes here, and makes a small offering to the Kami."

Naruto was intensely aware of how loud his gulp was.

"I… I came here every week when I was little." Temari smiled slightly, and shook her head, her four pigtails swaying with it. "I would drop almost my whole allowance into the pond, and pray… Pray that someone could help my little brother." She chuckled. "I ended up taking part of Kankuro's money to buy new things."

Naruto watched her smile fade as Temari's jaw set tersely.

"But nothing ever happened. And after I saw Gaara on our first mission… The things he did… I gave up hope, you know?" She blinked and stayed silent for a few long seconds. "I thought my own little brother would kill Kankuro and I. That he would never ever think of us as his siblings, only annoyances."

She locked her eyes with Naruto's, emeralds that sparkled as they caught the last rays of sunlight.

"And then you fought him during the Chuunin exam. And you changed him."

Naruto averted his gaze, flustered. "I was just lucky…"

He looked back up when Temari let out a bark of laughter.

"Modesty doesn't really suit you, Uzumaki Naruto." Temari cocked her head slightly and grinned, her eyes turning to fine slits. "You changed him, and never asked for anything. We… I never got to thank you."

She leaned over, and Naruto's cerulean eyes widened in surprise as he felt the girl's soft lips briefly touch his cheek.

"So, _thank_ you, Naruto."

"Y-yeah…" He breathed, raising a hand to trace the spot she'd just kissed.

Temari's grin died down to a gentle smile, and she leaned back, propping herself up on her outstretched arms. "And I would've thought you were going to be angry about being betrothed to me, not just sad."

Naruto shook his head fiercely. "I was! I mean I am!" He protested. "I just thought it would be worse for you, you know?"

"I was angry, but…" Temari closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyelids to stare at the boy next to her. "It was my choice."

"W-what?!" Naruto was taken aback, and he jerked wildly to fully face the girl.

Temari inclined her head slowly. "The council of the Leaf… They wouldn't accept Gaara's appointment of Kazekage and the council of the Sand… they made a deal."

At those words, Naruto started to get a sinking feeling in his gut.

"In return of marrying me off to a leaf-nin so Konoha could control the… _beast_… that nearly destroyed their village, they would allow Gaara to become Kazekage. And the council from Suna took this opportunity for it to be their last repayment for their part in the invasion. And perhaps a link to the Leaf's weapon, through me. I mean, normally I don't think it would have mattered what Konoha wanted, but the shame of being betrayed by the Sound and our defeat…" She trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Naruto stayed silent, and unbidden, a memory flashed in his mind.

'Look underneath the underneath…'

"So it's all politics." Naruto stated before something clicked. "And you… you said the Leaf's weapon…"

Temari smirked, seeming more like the old Temari he vaguely remembered from the Chuunin exams. "I'm not stupid you know."

"T-then you know…" Naruto stammered.

"That you're the carrier of the nine-tailed demon fox." Temari nodded.

"Kyuubi." The blonde boy finished lamely. "A-and still…"

"And still I want to make the sacrifice. For Gaara." She assured him. "And… It's still not easy. Gaara told me that I didn't have to, but… After thinking about just who you are, I…" She paused, and Naruto could have sworn he saw a faint blush adorning her cheeks. "I think it might not be much of a sacrifice at all."

"But. Your village, you…" He swallowed hard and absently noted that night had set fully.

"I know." Temari looked uneasy. "Since you arrived, I wanted nothing more than you _not_ being here. It was just too early and I was angry. And I'm sad about it, too. But I only want the best for Gaara." She added, looking him straight in the eyes again. "What about you?"

"I… I…" He wracked his brain to think of a proper reply. His thoughts raced to his feelings for Sakura. And still…

Naruto took in every detail of Temari's face. From the gentle curve of her jaw to the way her brow was slightly furrowing above her almond-shaped eyes. Something ground into place, and he began to appreciate just how serious a commitment she was willing to make.

'She is ready to sacrifice everything for Gaara and… and me…'

He smiled briefly, but felt his heart ache at the memory of strawberry hair. "Maybe it isn't such a sacrifice either, but…"

"But there's a girl you like." Temari added.

"Yeah." Naruto whispered, a little flustered.

"Sakura, right?"

"Yeah…" Naruto repeated, scratching his cheek.

"The pink-haired dolt that…" Temari raised an eyebrow but stopped when Naruto frowned.

From what she could remember from the Chuunin exams, that girl had been incredibly weak. Why Naruto was interested in her, Temari couldn't really understand.

"And you?" Naruto asked suddenly. "Don't you have someone you like here in Suna?"

Temari shrugged, chuckling mirthlessly. "It's not like I have a lot of guys coming after me with Gaara being my brother and all, you know?"

Naruto laughed honestly at that. "Hah, yeah, I bet he scares them off."

"They don't know what they're missing." Temari nodded to herself.

The blonde boy said nothing to that, instead he reached into the left pocket of his shorts and fished out two coins, change from the day before at Takano's ramen stand. He handed one to Temari, who took it mutely.

"For luck." Naruto smiled, and tossed his coin in the pond. It made a silent splash, sinking quickly to the bottom to settle amongst numerous other coins.

"For luck." Temari affirmed, tossing in her coin as well.

Naruto stole a glance at Temari who stared into the pond and at the ripples their offerings had caused. He still wasn't sure what to think about the situation he was thrown in, or about Temari for that matter, but it was some comfort that he knew what had been bothering her since he arrived in Sunagakure. Still, she was Gaara's sister, and that counted for something at least. Temari seemed to be kind from what he'd seen just now and that certainly put her on his growing list of people he liked.

But... _marriage_?

Naruto had some difficulty grasping the full scope of how that would influence his life. What exactly was he going to do? Naruto wasn't sure, but when Temari smiled at him again, he promised himself that at least he would make sure he wouldn't try to hurt her in any way.

* * *

Chapter end.

* * *

**Suisei** Strength of a River Current.  
**Raiton: Raikou Shushou** Lightning Element: Lightning Palm  
**Raiton: Hekireki no Jutsu** Lightning Element: Thunderclap Technique  
**Doton: Kakuheki no Jutsu** Earth Element: Barrier Wall

Yes, Tsunade approved, and no, that's not coming into play just yet. And if you were wondering, it was LackeyH who inspired me. Here's to hoping he'll resume writing soon. By the way reviews are food for authors, since there is really no other way to show them that you're enjoying their stories. So if you've read my story, have a minute to spare (or less), drop me a review with your thoughts or comments.


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas

Note: Thank you for the reviews, they're like food to me. So... feed me! Trying a new method for scene breaks, tell me if you prefer it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 07:**

**oOoOo**

"Look, I'm not angry with you, ero-sennin." Naruto muttered as he punched a training log again and again.

"Yeah?" Jiraiya looked at the visible indentations his student was making.

"Yeah." Naruto grated out through his teeth and punched harder. A little too hard, and his fist sunk two centimetres into the wood. He hissed at the splinters digging into his flesh and shakily drew back his arm.

"Doesn't look that way to me, boy." The sage shifted from foot to foot, his peculiar sandals digging into the dirt. It gave him a nervous air, something which didn't quite fit Jiraiya's large frame.

The blonde sighed and yanked out the wooden slivers from his hand, staring grimly at it when he wiped away the blood, revealing wholesome skin. He turned to look at his teacher and shrugged. "I'm really not. I mean, I'm angry, but not at you."

"It could be worse." Jiraiya supplied helpfully, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest. "A lot worse…" He added with a lecherous chuckle he just couldn't suppress.

"Don't start!" Naruto warned, glaring, but let it die down quickly. He lowered his head, staring at his feet. "I just… don't know what to do…"

"Hmm." Jiraiya rumbled and stepped closer to put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "You shouldn't worry, Naruto. It'll work out for the best."

Naruto looked up at Jiraiya's grinning face. He offered a small smile of his own. "Thanks."

**oOoOo**

"Hey Naruto! Come over here for a second!"

Naruto focused on the source of the voice. "Huh? What is it, Yugito-sensei?"

Yugito stood at the edge of the small field Naruto had been training in since this morning. Jiraiya had left just an hour earlier, claiming he had to talk to a few people. A flimsy lie to cover up for his peeping habits, Naruto was sure.

He meandered over to the Kumo-nin, curious about what she wanted from him. Lately she had been somewhat flaky in her attending his training sessions. Often leaving for a few hours, forcing Naruto to train on his own. If you discounted a silent Temari watching, in any case.

"What is it?" Naruto repeated once he stood before his teacher, brushing off the fine dust that had settled on his clothes.

Yugito grinned. "I've got a little something for you." She waved a small scroll in front of his face.

"Really?" Naruto perked up, excited. He reached for it but Yugito quickly lifted it out of reach.

"No, not yet." She told him, ignoring the plaintive sounds he was making. "Remember when I told you I wouldn't teach you any more techniques until you had proven that you had a proficient grasp of the other three?"

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, it's time to test if you can do them properly. If you can, I'll give you this scroll."

"What's in it?" He asked.

"Oh, just a little Fuuton jutsu I managed to obtain for you to learn." She explained smugly.

Naruto cheered loudly.

"Hey, I told you, prove you can use the three techniques I taught you well enough, otherwise you're not getting it."

The boy seemed to deflate, but quickly regained his composure. "Alright!" He crossed his hands in an all too familiar seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Three clones came into existence with a muffled bang and wisps of smoke and Naruto wasted no time in directing them. "You!" He yelled, pointing at the one on the left. "Keep standing where you are." He moved his finger to the middle one. "You, transform and get out of the way. And you can keep him company." He added to the last clone.

The replicas nodded, complying with their orders. The second clone transformed into a perfect rendition of Naruto's aptly coined Oiroke no Jutsu, though clothed. The now girl moved to stand beside Yugito who was watched as Naruto gave orders to his shadow clones as if he were a general with a smile. The third followed silently, seating himself on the ground.

"Damn, why did I get picked for this?" The first clone pouted, not looking forward to having his existence cut short by several thousand volts of electricity.

"Shut up, just stand still." Naruto groused, not impressed by the clone's attitude.

"Heh." Yugito chuckled. "This doesn't inspire confidence, Naruto, if you can't even control your own Kage Bunshin."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto mumbled, performing a quick series of seals and held out his right hand, curling the fingers slightly. "Just watch!"

Yugito noted happily that there didn't seem to be too much of an excess of chakra used in the technique. Neither did he have to shout its name for extra focus. So far, the Raikou Shushou jutsu was looking good.

Naruto gritted his teeth when miniature arcs of electricity started flitting between his widened fingers. Grinning when the clone swallowed nervously, the boy wasted no more time and stepped towards his copy, swinging his arm forwards. As soon as his palm impacted the clone's gut, faint crackles resounded through the air and the bunshin swore, dropping to the ground where he twitched violently before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto's eyes widened and he shuddered. "Ugh, that was nasty."

Yugito clapped her hands together in applause. "Well done. Though I don't know why you used your own clone for that technique, you could have just used the log over there." She pointed towards the training log a slight distance away in the training field. "The Kage Bunshin feedback isn't always very pleasant when it gets killed off by a technique or otherwise."

"Uh…" Naruto blinked slowly, then nodded, pretending he understood. "Yeah."

Unfortunately for him, Yugito noted his hesitance. She scowled at him, boring her pale-blue eyes into his. "Naruto… for the love of Kami-sama…_please_ tell me you noticed the information feedback of your shadow clones before."

Naruto opened his mouth and scratched his cheek. "Well… I guess I did, sort of. Maybe."

Yugito stared at him before cradling her forehead in the palm of her gloved hand. "Just… Just continue before I do something we'll both regret."

"Right." Naruto swallowed nervously and nodded at the now female version of him. It would be best to pay heed to his teacher's warnings. Whenever she got impatient with him, which, thankfully, wasn't very often, it often meant a little pain. Yugito didn't really like to go over things again and again.

The second clone grinned, amused at the interaction between student and teacher. She moved to the spot where the first had disappeared and waited patiently. "Guinea-pig ready for testing, sir!"

Naruto grumbled. "What is it with you guys lately. Just be quiet, will you?"

Another series of hand seals and Naruto swept his hands out dramatically. His extremities shook slightly for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes at the grinning clone and slammed his hands together. "Raiton: Hekireki no Jutsu!"

A field of buzzing, static energy billowed up and out from Naruto's form in a forwards direction until it washed over the clone. Much to the boy's surprise though, absolutely nothing happened aside from the bunshin's eyes rolling back into her head and her teetering over to the ground with a squeak.

He carefully moved his hands apart and turned to Yugito. "Uh, did I do something wrong, Yugito-sensei?"

The Jounin looked down at the clone, her posture thoughtful. "No, pretty much what I expected. Good work, Naruto."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but motioned for the last clone to get ready. Without complaint, he got off of the ground, stepped over to the female clone and kicked her solidly in the ribs to dispel her.

"Was that really necessary?" Naruto muttered, frowning at his clone.

Yugito was getting slightly unnerved by the distinctive personalities Naruto seemed to pass on to his replicas, but remained silent.

The clone shrugged. "She'd get in the way."

"Pff. Just get ready to throw some weapons my way." Naruto ordered, to which the bunshin shook his head.

"And what am I exactly going to have to throw? Dirt?"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, remembering the lack of armaments on his person. "Oh just shut up!" He quickly performed the Kage Bunshin technique again, creating two more clones before transforming them into a set of Fuuma shuriken. He tossed them to the lippy shadow clone who caught them deftly.

"That's better." He muttered, twirling the large throwing weapons around his fingers.

Naruto, for once, didn't respond. His fingers blurred as he rapidly crossed and intertwined them in a series of seals. "Doton: Kakuheki no Jutsu!" He shouted.

With a loud rumbling, the light-brown dirt in front of him was thrown into the air, dust and sand flying every which way. It rose to a towering height of two meters, half as thick, and one and a half times as broad in a rough ecliptic shape.

As soon as the technique was completed, the clone slung both of the oversized shuriken Naruto's way with a grunt. In a flash of impressive speed, they whistled towards the earthen structure and with dull "chinks" they dug into the barrier, but didn't penetrate. Purpose fulfilled, Naruto's replica dispelled himself, as did the two other transformed clones.

As soon as they did, Naruto jumped into the air. "I did it!" He exclaimed.

Pride swelled in Yugito's chest and she couldn't help but smile genuinely at Naruto's antics. "Well done, Naruto. Very well done."

"Alright, now you'll teach me that new technique, right?" His eyes shimmered with glee. Aside from ramen, the prospect of learning a new technique was a sure-fire way to boost his spirits.

"I made a promise, didn't I?" Yugito said as she handed the scroll she had been holding to the boy.

"Hey, hey, what is it?" Naruto asked, unfurling the scroll quickly and scanned its contents.

"Well…" Yugito tapped her chin. "You're lacking in long-distance fighting abilities. Which is fine if you're in a team with someone who specializes in it to negate that deficiency. But you should at least learn several ranged ninjutsu for when you're ever caught on your own."

Naruto nodded as finished reading. "Fuuton: Tenkuu Dangan, huh?"

Yugito inclined her head in return. "It'll all depend on your own ability to compress your chakra and releasing it in a short bursts from your mouth."

"Alright, I'll get started right away!" He grinned and rolled the paper back up again, stuffing it into his pocket. Naruto raised a fist in front of him. "I'll master this jutsu in a week!"

Shaking her head at his boasting, Yugito spent the following hour going through the small sequence of hand seals it required and the necessary way to mould chakra for it to work correctly. She begged off after Naruto tried it the first time, only managing to expel his own breath instead of a large burst of condensed chakra-infused air.

Naruto was a little disappointed but continued practising.

By the time Yugito had made her way to the roof of one of the large buildings overseeing the training field, she just managed to catch Naruto being knocked on his ass by the air he released.

"So, what do you think?" Yugito murmured, moving to stand next to the other person watching Naruto train.

"You're right." The man said, staring at her with his only visible eye, the other hidden by white cloth draped down the left half of his face. "He has potential."

"You'll help?"

"Why not. Kazekage-sama has already ordered all of us to give any help we can to Naruto."

"He's a lucky kid." Yugito grinned lightly. "He's got powerful friends all over, though I doubt he truly realizes it."

Baki, former sensei to Gaara, peered at Naruto's increasingly successful tries at the new technique he was trying to learn. "I don't think luck has anything to do with it."

**oOoOo**

Dinner that night was an odd affair. More so because Yugito offered to take Naruto and Temari out for ramen. For perhaps the first time, Naruto considered not eating what he thought was the food of the gods themselves, but instead skip dinner altogether. Even though he might have had that talk with Temari the day before, the boy still felt more than a little awkward in her presence. Even going so far as run out of the house that morning and get some extra early training in.

Now though, there seemed to be no avoiding her presence. Temari had nodded to him after Yugito's invitation and smiled slightly. If she could at least make an effort, why couldn't he do it in return? It was not like he was angry with her or anything.

No, he saved that for the councils of the Leaf and Sand. Naruto was going to kick the asses of the old farts who thought of this stupid betrothal.

Still, as he sat in between Yugito and Temari, watching the slightly older girl silently eat her noodles, he couldn't help but remember Jiraiya's words. 'It could have been worse.' Even so, it would have been so much better if she had been Sakura.

Naruto motioned for his fifth bowl of ramen, ignoring the slightly disturbed looks from either female. Takano set it before him, steaming hot, just the way he liked it. Of course, the owner of the small stand had to ruin the moment, not able to hold in his words any longer.

"Ahh!" Takano winked at Temari. "Kazekage-sama's beautiful sister, the Desert Rose. Surely you are in luck, Naruto, for getting the chance to marry her!"

Temari huffed and turned back to her noodles, a faint crimson staining her cheeks.

Naruto opened his mouth in outrage, his bowl forgotten. "Did _everyone_ know about this but me or something?!"

"I didn't." Yugito admitted. "I was just as surprised as you were, Naruto, when Jiraiya-sama told me yesterday."

"That's not saying much, Yugito-sensei!" Naruto scowled, and poked his chopsticks into the broth of his ramen angrily.

"He's right though." Yugito affirmed, pointing at Takano who had turned back to his small kitchen and politely distancing himself from the conversation. "I was once in the same type of situation you two are in. Although it was just with someone in my own village."

"Eh, really?" Naruto's noodles slipped from his grasp and fell down into his broth with a small splash.

"What's he like?" Temari inquired, hoping to glean some useful information.

"He's dead." Yugito deadpanned.

"Oh." The girl mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"Hah!" Yugito threw her head back and laughed, her long pony-tail shaking along with her fram. "Don't be. In my book of people I don't like, he rated an S-rank for being an asshole easily."

"Oi." Naruto frowned. "Isn't that a bit much? What was wrong with him?"

"We didn't want to be married, but we were forced to. I remained faithful, while he didn't, simple as that." Yugito smiled, lifted her bowl to swallow some of the broth and swallowed, setting it back down again with a dull clink. "Don't know why I did. We had sex once, but I didn't like it. He was as much a bastard as he was limp in the sack, if you know what I mean."

"You shouldn't say such things in front of minors!" Naruto scolded her, anti-pervert attitude coming to the forefront, however hypocritical it might have been. He had gotten much practice during his training trip with Jiraiya.

Yugito shrugged. "There's nothing perverted about it." She glanced at the two teens from the corners of her eyes, her lips stretching into a sly grin. "That reminds me… Have you two kids been given _The Talk_ yet?"

This time, the crimson didn't remain centred on Temari's cheeks and Naruto did not fare any better.

**oOoOo**

As seemed to be the continuing case with Naruto while he stayed in the hidden Sand, the next day heralded yet another surprise. Although not as life-changing as finding out he was forced to marry someone he barely knew, it was somewhat of an oddity.

Naruto remembered the last sibling of the Sand trio to be slightly obnoxious and overly sure of himself. Not that Naruto wasn't the same himself, of course not. But more importantly, he remembered Gaara's brother's dislike for foreigners or people who got in his way. Thus, what Naruto had been expecting, and came to pass when Kankuro entered the kitchen that morning, were two entirely different things.

"Ahhh…" Kankuro groaned and flexed slightly after setting his large backpack on the ground beside the door.

"Welcome back, Kankuro." Temari called out from the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea.

"Hey sis, how are y-…" Kankuro did a double take when he saw the blonde seated opposite of her. "Hey! It's Naruto!" He laughed and moved closer to grasp the blonde's hand, shaking it vigorously. "How are you doing man?"

Naruto glanced towards Temari who smiled at her brother's antics. "Uh, fine I guess. And yourself?"

"I've been pretty good. The mission I was on took longer than I thought, but it was alright." He released Naruto's hand and clapped the boy on the shoulder. "I'm glad to see you, Gaara said you'd be coming to visit."

"Thanks!" Naruto smiled at the warm greeting from Kankuro, even though he had seen him only several times a long time ago. Then again, the same could be said for Gaara and Temari. "Yeah I got here nearly two weeks ago."

"Really? Then I just missed you!" Kankuro grinned and took off his hood, revealing spiky, light-brown hair.

"So, uh, what was your mission?" Naruto hazarded, not sure on what to talk to the older boy about yet.

Kankuro reached into a cabinet above the sink to fish out a carton of cereal. His face was still covered in war paint and it contorted oddly when he grimaced. "Sorry man, I can't talk about it. Client confidentiality and all that."

"Oh, that's okay." Naruto cleared his throat and turned to his own tea. He had been waiting for Yugito to swing by after she left early and fetch him for some training. She claimed that she had something special planned.

Grabbing a bowl and spoon, Kankuro set them on the table along with the cereal, then moved to the refrigerator and took out a glass bottle of milk. "It wasn't anything interesting anyway, the details would probably have bored you out of your mind." He plunked into a seat beside Temari and poured both the cereal and milk in his bowl. "So uh…" He began, taking his first bite. "Did you tell him, Temari?"

The girl stared at her cup and nodded. Naruto also looked distinctly uncomfortable and wondered what could be keeping Yugito.

Kankuro munched loudly and swallowed. He waved his spoon at Naruto, shaking his head. "I don't envy you, Temari's pretty difficult to live with."

"HEY!" Temari objected, rising from her seat with murder in her eyes. "That's all you have to say about it?!"

Grinning as he observed her reaction, Kankuro resumed eating. "Come on sis, you two are pretty lucky." He inclined his head towards Naruto. "Sure, he can be a little annoying if I remember the Naruto from the Chuunin exams correctly. But he beat Gaara."

Naruto who had gaped previously, scowled at the mention of him being annoying.

Temari lowered back onto her chair, scowling as well. "It's not that simple, Kankuro!"

"I know, I know." Kankuro lifted his shoulders, consuming several more spoonfuls of cereal, completely ignoring the looks the two blondes were sending him. "But you could do a lot worse." He chugged down the dredges of milk from his bowl and put everything away.

Naruto was frowning when Kankuro reached for his backpack and told them he was going to perform some repairs on his puppets in his room. "You could do a lot worse", was that going to be the general advice from everyone? It wasn't nearly as helpful to Naruto as he would have liked.

**oOoOo**

"Alright, let's see how far you've gotten with the technique." Yugito motioned for Naruto to start.

The boy nodded and performed the necessary seals, gathered the chakra required in his chest and expelled it in a large blast. He was pushed backwards slightly by the force of the technique, his feet digging into the dirt.

"Damn." Naruto muttered as the air he expelled from his mouth equated to nothing more than a huge exhale.

Yugito had been expecting this. "Well, you've got the power for it down." She told him. "Which isn't too surprising. But you still have to work on compressing it and releasing it in a timely manner."

Naruto squinted at his perpetual problem. "Yeah."

"For the second day, you're doing pretty good though." Yugito commended him. "I guess all your chakra-control training is really paying off." She glanced at Naruto. "That reminds me, how are you doing with your one-handed Rasengan?"

The boy scratched his head, chuckling. "Well, I haven't been able to do it yet."

"Keep practising."

"Of course!" He exclaimed.

"But for now, I want you to meet someone. He's going to help you get a better grasp of Wind jutsu." She told him, smiling.

Naruto's eyes brightened eagerly. "Really, who is it?"

"I guess that's my cue." A deep voice sounded to their left and the duo's heads swivelled to take in the newcomer's appearance.

"Hey!" Naruto pointed with his arm outstretched, only to have his hand slapped down by Yugito immediately. Unperturbed, he continued. "You're Gaara's sensei!"

Baki visible eye stared at him intently as he stepped closer. "Was."

"Uhm, okay then." Naruto shrugged.

Yugito groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Naruto, show some respect. You have no idea how much effort it took me to track down a suitable teacher for you."

Of course, she was embellishing. In fact, it was Gaara himself who suggested going to Baki. Not that Naruto knew this, something she didn't mind exploiting.

Naruto's eyes widened, while Baki took the opportunity to blink blandly at the Jounin.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" The younger blonde bowed deeply. "Thank you for teaching me, Baki-sensei!"

"Like Yugito-san said, you are energetic." Baki's lips curved into a disturbing smile. "Good."

Naruto didn't seem to notice it, too excited about the prospect of learning more techniques.

"I'll leave the two of you to it since I have a meeting with Jiraiya-sama and Gaara-sama." Yugito piped up, winking at Naruto. "Have fun."

Barely forty seconds later, she could hear Naruto's anguished cries. Jiraiya hadn't been kidding when he said the boy hated theory, even if it was about jutsu creation and execution. The Jounin calmly made her way to the Kazekage-tower, grinning and whistling all the while.

**oOoOo**

"You're late." Gaara said in a monotone as Yugito walked through the doorway of his office.

Yugito bowed quickly. "I apologize, Kazekage-sama. I was delayed by introducing Naruto to your old teacher, Baki-san."

A loud bellowing laugh boomed forth from the other end of the room. "Oh you're evil, Yugito-chan." Jiraiya shook his head and ran a hand through his grizzled white mane. "I don't think he'll forgive you for this.

The Kumo-nin shrugged, propping a hand on her hip. "Naruto needs to understand how his elemental affinity works, and Baki-san is one of the leading Fuuton experts in the Sand, according to Gaara-sama.

"I will ensure that Naruto grows stronger while he remains in my village." Gaara stated, then focused on Jiraiya. "Shall we begin?"

Jiraiya's jovial attitude seemed to melt away when Yugito took a seat in front of Gaara's desk. He leaned against the wall next to one of the windows and closed his eyes, grunting slightly. "The Yonbi has been warned, and understands the danger he is in. Although he isn't really affiliated with any village, he'll think about seeking sanctuary here, with your approval."

"He will be welcome." The redhead affirmed.

"The Gobi is still with the hidden Mist, and the Shichibi is with the hidden Stone. The Mizukage is being very stubborn, but he knows I'm serious. And well… You know the Leaf's history with Stone."

Yugito tilted her head. "What about the Rokubi?"

"The six-tails is… lost. I haven't been able to find any information about his exact whereabouts, which is damn impressive. What I do know is that he's being used by the Ice country, and they're about to start a war with the Land of Snow. Probably thinking about using his power to win it quickly."

"They're idiots." Yugito supplied helpfully, scowling. "The land of Snow might not have many Shinobi compared to the other countries that surround it, but their standing army is impressive, and their technology even more so."

"They are drunk on the power of a tailed beast in their possession." Gaara blinked slowly. "You have seen how it can influence men and women."

Jiraiya nodded. "Even in the Leaf, there were those crying for the Sandaime to use Kyuubi to destroy their enemies once and for all."

"Would they still do so with Tsunade-sama in power?" Yugito asked.

"No, her attachment to Naruto is widely known. Even Danzo wouldn't be stupid enough to approach her about the subject. He might try through other means, but I'm not sure."

"What do you plan to do?" Gaara turned to Jiraiya, curious.

"You received my info on the Akatsuki and you should prepare accordingly. When the Akatsuki moves, they'll want to go after you first, to get the Ichibi. I'm going to follow up on some rumours I've heard of infighting. Though I doubt they're true, it's worth investigating."

Yugito rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "If that were true, it would buy us precious time to prepare."

"Like I said, don't count on it."

Gaara rose from his seat and walked over to one of the windows. "The Hachibi?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Nothing. It's like it never even left the spirit world, like the others."

"Maybe." Yugito murmured, her eyes flashing golden for a split second. "The Nibi doesn't know either."

"If I don't know, then I'm pretty sure Akatsuki doesn't either." The toad sage grinned and stepped closer to Gaara. "Anyway, don't you think it's high time I inspected that seal of yours?"

The Kazekage's dark-rimmed eyes focused on the older man. "I am… unsure."

"Kid, you probably had the worst luck of all the jinchuuriki." Jiraiya reached to poke Gaara in the stomach, only to have a cloud of sand move between them in an instant. "Shukaku thrives on terror, and I can make him shut up."

For the first time since Yugito had met him, Gaara's tone was surprisingly timid. "I will be able to sleep?"

"You have my word."

Yugito smiled when Gaara consented. It had surprised her and the Nekomata that the boy had been able to keep Shukaku at bay for so long. Now, however, Gaara would finally get some assistance he had been due for a long time.

**oOoOo**

Chapter end.

**oOoOo**

Technique list:

**Raiton: Raikou Shushou** - Lightning Element: Lightning Palm  
**Raiton: Hekireki** - Lightning Element: Thunderclap  
**Doton: Kakuheki** - Earth Element: Barrier Wall  
**Fuuton: Tenkuu Dangan** – Wind Element: Air Bullet

Tailed beasts from numbers one to nine:

Ichibi – Nibi – Sanbi – Yonbi – Gobi – Rokubi – Shichibi – Hachibi – Kyuubi


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas

Note: Thanks for the reviews, they're definitely appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 08:**

**oOoOo**

Sunagakure, like any other village, whether civilian or not, had its share of ghost stories. One of which involved a ghoul that prowled the streets by night, seeking those who were awake at night and would then devour their very soul. Mitsuru, a nine-year old Genin hopeful, didn't choose to believe in any of those tales. In fact, he was on a dare right now, in the middle of the night. His friends had dared him to go out after his parents had fallen asleep and enter the Sunagakure Shinobi Academy to steal the answer sheet to tomorrow's test.

Perhaps it wasn't the brightest thing he could have ever done, but then, children at a young age rarely thought things through properly. He snuck past old man Roku's house, an annoying geezer who would never hesitate to spout curses at Academy-goers as they passed by. Mitsuru was briefly tempted to trample the Roku's prized flowerbed, a treasure in a village hidden in the desert, but shook his head. He was on a mission, he thought to himself, it was just practise for his future assignments.

With renewed purpose and vigour, Mitsuru scanned the street. The Academy was just beyond, and the answer-sheet he needed to obtain along with it. The child was halfway there when he heard it; a low-key moan coming from his right. As soon as it did, Mitsuru felt his body freeze up.

'Whu... What's that?' He thought franticly, slowly turning his head towards the source of the noise.

Another moan followed the first, allowing Mitsuru to focus on the source. Still some distance away, passing underneath a flickering street light, it shuffled slowly towards the boy, clothes torn and dirtied, and a matted mop of hair on top of its hunched form. Mitsuru couldn't help but whimper when it seemed to focus on him. When it moaned again, Mitsuru lost all his courage and screamed, running back to his home with such speed it would make even a Jounin envious.

Naruto reached out, a mumbled string of words issuing from between his lips. "No, wait! Where am I!" The blonde swore loudly. "Damnit, that's the third one! What the hell is wrong with this village?!"

**oOoOo**

It was early in the morning when Naruto finally dragged himself inside the Kazekage's residence after getting lost. He had been training all night to perfect the new wind technique Yugito obtained for him. Naruto had seen no alternative since most of the day had been spent listening to Baki drone on and on about the fine details of his wind affinity and how it influenced the jutsu of said element.

Naruto wanted nothing more than take a quick shower, washing off all the dirt and dust that caked his skin before crawling into bed and catching a few hours of sleep. As quietly as he could to avoid waking the other residents, he snuck up the stairs and entered the bathroom.

He shrugged off his tattered clothing, badly damaged from the backlash of his repetitive tries at his new technique. Naruto kicked the bundle of cloth aside without too much thought and idly wondered if he should pitch in for a shower-screen when he stepped inside the stall. He set the bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo that he'd grabbed from the sink on a small ledge then fumbled with the hot and cold water taps until the water that rained down on him was at a pleasant temperature.

Two doors down, Temari awoke early as she usually did. She was set in her rituals, and her mind was on auto-pilot until she at least got several cups of tea in her system. She had tried the black muck that was coffee once, but never acquired a taste for it. Shrugging off her blanket, Temari clambered to her feet from her futon and scratched her hair, undone from the usual four pigtails. Yawning, she adjusted her yukata and grabbed her toiletries from her desk before shuffling silently out of her room and towards the bathroom.

Warning bells sounded, muted by a haze of sleepiness, at the faint humming coming from behind the closed door. Temari paid no heed to them and opened the door, no-one ever got up as early as she did and Gaara never slept. She had set her toiletries down on the cabinet next to the sink and was about to discard her robe to step under the shower when she noticed that she wasn't quite alone.

"Uh…" Naruto began once she turned to face him, hands still tangled in his hair in a cloud of soapy suds.

Temari opened and closed her mouth several times. She glanced down briefly and the sight set her cheeks ablaze. The resulting trickle of blood that made its way from her nose down her upper lip served to shake her out of her stupor. Without hesitating another second, she ran back out again towards to her bedroom.

Naruto blinked and finished washing. He rinsed his blonde mane thoroughly, dried himself off with a towel on a rack mounted to the far wall before he too, went to his bedroom. He settled down without a word, but before he fell asleep, only one thing crossed Naruto's shocked mind.

"God-damnit, I'm marrying a pervert!"

**oOoOo**

Saying that the atmosphere between Naruto and Temari was tense that afternoon, would have been a massive understatement. Although she tried to act like she didn't care very much, Temari couldn't suppress a blush whenever she glanced at Naruto. The boy, in turn, tried not to look at her at all. She had apologized just a few minutes previous and that was all there was to it for him. The less said about the incident the better.

"Heh, what's with you two today?" Kankuro chuckled, carrying several limbs of his puppet Karasu with him into the living room and dropping onto the couch next to Naruto.

"I didn't see him naked!" Temari exclaimed without warning until she realized just what she'd said and her face contorted with a look of abject mortification. Without saying anything further, she scrambled up the stairs and out of sight.

"O…kay…" Kankuro raised an eyebrow and turned to Naruto who seemed to be quite stunned by the girl's outburst. "You two are just raring to go, aren't you? Like each other so much you can't wait for marriage or something?"

"No!" Naruto growled. "Yes! I mean… argh." He palmed his face and explained just what had happened earlier. As soon as he was done, Kankuro exploded into laughter. It didn't really help Naruto's mood.

"Oh man, that's gold." Kankuro shook his head, grinning broadly and started inspecting Karasu's parts. "I'll be able to hold that over her head forever." He paused and looked up. "Well, until you two make like bunnies and start humping in any case."

Naruto scowled. "You're as bad as ero-sennin!" 

"Wha?" The older boy looked puzzled. "Ero-sennin?"

"Self-proclaimed super pervert." Naruto huffed. "He writes nasty books, too."

"And you call him a pervert?" Kankuro noted, eyeing the blonde dubiously. "Doesn't that make you a pervert as well by association?"

"He's my teacher!" Naruto objected, and averted his head. "It's not my fault he writes those stupid Icha Icha books."

A loud crash turned his attention back to Kankuro who was staring at him in wonder.

"Y-you mean…" The brown-haired teen stammered, the limb he had dropped promptly forgotten. "Jiraiya… _The_ Jiraiya, author of the greatest book series known to mankind… is… your teacher?"

"Yeah…" Naruto answered slowly. "Don't tell me you're a fan…"

"Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it man." Kankuro grinned. "I bet you haven't even really read it yet. It's more than just porn in there you know. Anyone could write smutty stuff, but no-one can build a great story around it like Jiraiya."

Naruto fell silent, unable to convey a proper rebuttal.

"So uh, can you introduce me?"

The blonde groaned. 'Why me?'

**oOoOo**

"Have you seen Gaara today?" Naruto questioned, curious since had seen neither hide nor hair of the redhead all day.

Kankuro shrugged. In lieu of his sister's outburst and her refusal to leave her room, he had opted to watch over Naruto's training.

"Yugito-sensei and ero-sennin were in a meeting with him, but I didn't think it'd take all night though."

"Yugito…" Kankuro rubbed his chin, watching Naruto move through a basic series of the Suisei taijutsu style, on top of his own man-made pond no less. "That's the Kumo chick, right?"

Naruto nodded after a quick back flip, though he didn't quite agree with the moniker "chick".

"Man, you're one lucky brat, you know that?" The older boy groused, eyes darting after Naruto as his movements grew increasingly erratic.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The blonde grunted.

"Think about it. You have one of the legendary Sannin training you." Kankuro pointed out, folding his arms over his chest and stepping closer to the edge of the water. "Then he gets a Jounin from the freaking hidden _Cloud_ to train you. And now you're here, with Baki-sensei teaching you as well."

The Sand-nin still couldn't believe his own teacher had consented to instructing Naruto.

"Baki-sensei wants me to learn a whole load of theory first." Naruto managed to whine while performing three spinning kicks in rapid succession. He wasn't looking forward to meeting up with the turbaned Jounin for another session of it later this afternoon.

"Idiot." Kankuro half-shouted, disbelieving that Naruto could be so flippant. "You should take his lessons to heart, he's one of the most respected ninja of the hidden Sand!"

"Don't call me an idiot!"

Kankuro grinned. "I will if you act like one."

Naruto harrumphed, drawing his exercises to an end and moved on to the next part of his personal training. "How do you know about Yugito-sensei anyway?" He inquired, voice muffled from underneath the shirt he was putting back on. Before starting on his Suisei katas, he'd removed it. The heat in Sunagakure was too oppressive for even the light garment once he started working up a good sweat.

"Eh, Gaara sent me a scroll with a messenger bird while I was out on a mission. That's how I knew you were coming, too." Kankuro pulled off his sandals and lifted the legs of his pants. "Ahhh…" He sighed in relief once he sat down on the edge of Naruto's small pond and lowered his feet into the cool water.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why do you wear black clothing anyway? Isn't that hot?"

Kankuro craned his neck to look at the boy, smirking. "You learn a few techniques here and there to make life a little more comfortable for living in the desert." He explained sagely. "Plus, it looks pretty badass, don't you think? Intimidation is as much a factor in fights as strength is."

The blonde nearly face-vaulted at part of the explanation but inclined his head. "So that's why you use the face-paint too?" He motioned towards Kankuro's features.

Kankuro poked his cheek. He had forgone the war paint for the day since he was off-duty. "Yeah. Works pretty well on the weaklings."

Naruto nodded and was about to attempt to try and perform the Rasengan one-handed again when he froze. "Wait, what did you mean by using techniques to make life more comfortable?"

"Ah." Kankuro idly stared at his toes for a moment then waggled his eyebrows. "Well, not a whole lot of people bother with it since it eats up a lot of chakra unless you have very fine control of it. Even I use the technique sparingly."

"Uh, okay, what does it do?"

"Hmm. You know about the tenketsu, right?"

"Those chakra point thingies?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, the ones that Hyuga kid closed in his fight with you."

Naruto grimaced at the memory. "I remember."

"So, basically what you do is, you release small amounts of chakra from your tenketsu to manipulate a small layer of air around your skin." Kankuro explained. "It's like creating a breeze just for yourself, like a small cocoon of moving air."

"Wow!" Naruto's brow shot up. "That's really useful!"

"Haha, yeah. When I first learned how to do it, I used way too much chakra and ripped my clothes clean off." Kankuro laughed before frowning. "Sent myself straight to the hospital due to chakra exhaustion, too, come to think of it."

Naruto scratched the bridge of his nose, looking pensive. A vague idea started forming in the back of his head. Perhaps he'd have to talk more about this technique with Yugito and Jiraiya later on, if he could find them in any case. For now, he had to put this hour of free time to good use before he had to meet with Kankuro's old teacher.

**oOoOo**

It was in fact Yugito and Jiraiya who found the blonde sprawled on his back in the middle of another training field, exhausted from four hours of non-stop theory cramming with Baki.

"Hah, the brat's got enough stamina to run around Konoha for ten days and nights, but he can't take a little lecture to save his life." Jiraiya chuckled, winking at Yugito.

Night had set fully and Naruto had opted to simple stare at the starry sky for a few moments before he went back to training. That had been the plan at least, instead he had just lain here for a considerably longer time. He lifted his head slightly to glare at his two teachers before dropping it again listlessly. "It's not my fault it's so boring."

"I take it today's training proved fruitful, Naruto?" Yugito inquired, bemused by the boy's behaviour.

With a grunt of exertion, Naruto propped himself up on his elbows. "Yeah, it was alright."

"Heh." Jiraiya tossed him a plastic bag he had been carrying.

Naruto caught it deftly, or at least as well as he could in his current position before he sat up straight and peeked at the contents. He wiped the ensuing tendril of drool from the corner of his mouth with barely an afterthought.

"We thought you might want some dinner." Yugito murmured. "Temari and Kankuro informed us that you never returned to Kazekage-sama's residence."

The boy flashed them a grateful smile and opened the sealed plastic containers of steaming goodness after fishing them out of the bag.

"Sometimes I think you like training more than you like ramen." Jiraiya laughed.

Naruto was tempted to shout something along the lines of blasphemy, but managed to reign himself in. More because of the fact that he was engrossed in consuming said foodstuff than anything.

Knowing that they wouldn't get any decent conversation out of Naruto while he was eating, Yugito and Jiraiya seated themselves on the ground and conversed with each other while they waited for him to finish.

The Genin didn't pay too much attention to it. His ramen called to him! Though just three minutes later, with a loud belch, Naruto had polished off both of the containers his teachers had brought with them. While he was by no means full, it would sustain him for a while yet.

"Do you ever get used to seeing that, Jiraiya-sama?" Yugito sounded faintly disgusted.

"No…" Jiraiya shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Not really."

Naruto stuck out his tongue. Ramen was meant to enjoyed, as quickly as possible and in the largest of quantities available. "You two just don't know anything about the best food in the world."

"You wouldn't know anything about the fine culinary arts if it hit you upside the head with a sledgehammer." Jiraiya teased him good-naturedly.

For once, Naruto let the small barb slide. "So uh, how did the meeting with Gaara go?"

Yugito yawned and stretched. "We just came back, actually."

Naruto stared at them mutely for several long moments. He scratched his head and blinked "Wait, what? I thought you guys went yesterday afternoon?"

"We did." Jiraiya affirmed.

"Okay…" Naruto said slowly, not quite catching on.

"We had some business to take care of, Naruto." Yugito smiled and laughed at the boy's continuing confusion.

"We gave the Kazekage a little present." Jiraiya explained.

That of course didn't help matters much either. "Present?" Naruto asked, shifting his focus between his two teachers several times. "What kind of present?"

"You'll have to ask Gaara himself." The white-haired sennin told him, to which Yugito inclined her head.

"I hate it when either of you acts so damn mysterious!" Naruto complained, torn between the choice of going for a full out frowning or pouting session.

"He just might not want us to talk about it, or rather tell you himself." Yugito admonished. "Respect his privacy."

"Fine fine." Naruto huffed.

Jiraiya and Yugito shared an amused glance.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "I wanted to ask you guys something!"

"Ho? Like what?" Jiraiya leaned forwards, curious.

With that, Naruto regaled them with the earlier conversation he had been having with Kankuro, and how he had mentioned the technique to keep oneself cool even in the desert heat.

Jiraiya grinned. "Kankuro, huh? I like that kid."

"Only because he worshipped the ground you walked on." Yugito reminded him, scowling.

"Hey!"

"Oh, right. Continue, Naruto."

"So, anyway, I was thinking…" The blonde narrowed his eyes. "During my fight with Neji, he used this spinning top thing, right?"

"The Kaiten." Yugito corrected him. The Hyuuga techniques were well known, and feared, in Kumogakure. Of course Naruto also hadn't spared a single detail when he told her all about his fight with the black-haired boy during the Chuunin exams. "He must be very strong to have mastered it at that age."

"Yeah!" Naruto acknowledged. "He used that Kaiten thing to blow all of my shadow clones and weapons away."

"So?" Jiraiya wasn't quite sure where Naruto was going with this, although he was starting to get an idea.

"So?" The boy repeated. "I've got a wind affinity, right? And I got a lot of chakra, right? So, uhm, couldn't that help me like… make that air cocoon thing a little stronger? Not like spinning around like Neji does but still."

Jiraiya blinked while Yugito raised an eyebrow. They didn't speak for several moments until the sage cocked his head. "You know, that actually isn't a bad idea!"

The Yugito nodded thoughtfully. "That's very insightful of you, Naruto."

Naruto didn't know whether to be insulted by their surprise that he thought of this or beam at the praise.

**oOoOo**

The next morning found Naruto and Temari side by side, walking through the merchant district of Sunagakure. Yugito had given Naruto his half of the bounty on the missing-nin Okibi's head, even though he still couldn't remember exactly what had happened. His teacher hadn't been willing to divulge anything either. Instead, she had shooed Naruto and Temari out of the door, telling him to forgo his morning training to go and shop for some new clothes.

In fact, that was why he was being uncharacteristically downcast.

"You're still upset?" Temari asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Of course I am!" He gesticulated wildly. "Yugito-sensei burnt my old clothes to a crisp!"

"Heh, that's pretty funny actually." Temari bit back a snort.

Naruto, of course, disagreed. "No it's not!"

Before sending them both off to shop for new clothes, Yugito had explained in no uncertain terms that his jumpsuit had not been able to be salvaged. She had disposed of it.  
By setting it on fire.

Naruto thought that had been a bit over the top. The fact that she had seen the need to tell him about it in great detail even more so.

In truth, it had been cleaned thoroughly. Or rather, as well as it could have been. Still, Yugito had taken this as an opportune chance to try and get Naruto to wear something a little more sensible. Sensible as in something not orange. She had hidden it well, but it was still a thorn in her side that her student could do so well at training, but remain completely oblivious to matters like clothing.

Who, in their right mind as a ninja, would wear orange? So, a Katon jutsu before meeting up with Naruto and the spinning of a white little lie later, the two blondes had been on their way.

Temari had offered to join Naruto for no other reason that it might make up for the bathroom incident. She knew just the place; somewhere where style and durability walked hand in hand for all Shinobi needs.

"I mean seriously, I look like… Like… Sasuke!" Naruto complained, pointing at himself.

"The Uchiha?" Temari mused, to which the boy nodded. "He didn't look too bad, though."

Naruto frowned and looked at himself in the reflection of the shops they were passing in the merchant district. Temari had insisted on helping him pick something out. Which meant nothing orange, basically. Still, he had to admit it at least went well together. He was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt of a midnight-blue - bordering on black - that could be zipped open at the front.

Underneath it he wore a simple mesh shirt. The boy had never been one for that kind of Shinobi wear, but Temari had been adamant. She had somehow managed to combine a look that brooked no argument with one of embarrassment. At least, so Naruto thought. She had been blushing slightly in any case when she had handed it to him and told him to put it on with a threat of: Or else.

Knee-length shorts of the same shade of blue covered his legs and he had been given a complementary set of weapon holsters: one that he could strap to his thigh and one around his waist, just as he was used to. Temari had even gone so far as to fasten the metal plate of his hitai-ate – the only thing that survived from his previous attire which Naruto had brought with him - to a matching length of cloth. One he had immediately tied around his forehead. He had felt oddly naked without it.

"Do I look like Sasuke?" He asked, turning his attention to the girl.

Temari shook her head, her usual four pigtails swaying along happily.

Naruto stared at her for a moment until she averted her eyes. "Phew, that's a relief at least." He sighed, smiling.

"Although, uhm…" Temari moved closer to him and reached her arms around his head to untie his hitai-ate.

"What are you…?" He asked, startled at her proximity.

She lowered it and tied it again around his neck where it hung comfortably not unlike like she did with her own. This let his spiky mane droop over his forehead, dispelling the sea urchin look he was somewhat famous for in Konoha. "You look better like that."

"Y-you think so?" A pink tinge covered Naruto's whiskered cheeks at the compliment and locked his cerulean orbs with Temari's own.

The girl nodded, and then moved back again, breaking the moment. They had stopped walking and with a cough from Naruto, they resumed their way. Both of them seemed intently focused on their feet.

"Thanks for coming with me." Naruto spoke after a few minutes of silence.

"Huh?" Temari raised an eyebrow, nonplussed.

The jinchuuriki ran a hand through his hair and gazed up at the sky. "No-one ever went shopping with me like this before."

"Oh." Temari sounded a little surprised and was once again looking forward. "…You're welcome."

Still, he thought this wasn't enough to truly thank the girl for her help. Although she might not be Sakura, Temari was inexplicably fun to hang out with. Not that he had too much experience with spending time around members of the opposite sex around which were in the same age group as him. Naruto patted his pocket and felt his still sizable froggy wallet. He turned to Temari, grinning. "Hey, how about we get something to eat and drink, your choice."

"I'd like that." Temari smiled, inclining her head at the gesture. "There's this tea-place around here that I _really_ like…" She added with surprising excitement.

With that, she grabbed Naruto by the arm and began dragging him through a myriad of winding streets that he was sure to have lost his way in had he been on his own. The two drew plenty of looks from other pedestrians as Temari bulled her way through crowds with Naruto in tow. After several minutes had passed though, Naruto was tempted to ask if she actually knew where she was going until the girl pointed at the establishment in question.

"Here we are!" Temari beamed at the small tea-shop they had arrived at. It was wedged between two larger cafes, but despite this, it couldn't help but attract the eyes of passers-by. It had a cosy feel, with a small sign welcoming any potential customers and its sliding door seemingly perpetually open.

Displaying an unusual amount of tact, Naruto bit down on the first thought that ran through his mind and managed a look of genuine interest. "Wow, it looks pretty cool!"

"Wait until you taste the blends they imported from the Tea country, they're really delicious!"

Naruto chuckled when Temari hurried forwards. A warm feeling suffused him when he realized he might be seeing a side to the girl others rarely, if ever, did. He knew Temari liked tea, since she drank it every morning, but he didn't know she was this enthusiastic about it. Once they moved inside however, it took him by surprise that along with her interest, she was also very knowledgeable on the different kinds of tea that the shop carried.

As they seated themselves in a booth in one of the corners, Temari immediately guided him through the menu, pointing out which kind of tea she enjoyed the most and which he was best to avoid. When a waitress came along to take their orders he let Temari take the reign and order for him, trusting in her judgement.

"Mmm, this is really good!" Naruto told Temari once he had taken his first sip.

"They mixed the tea-leaves from the southern province of the Tea country and from a local plantation. They only started carrying it recently." Temari explained, cradling her own cup between her hands and inhaling the aroma with a deep breath.

Naruto stared at her and couldn't help but smile, he hadn't seen her so happy before and it made him wonder if perhaps she just liked the simple pleasures in life. He also wondered just what else she did in her free time.

"What is it?" Temari asked, noting his look.

"Ah, nothing, nothing…" He set down his own tea and waved her off.

She cocked her head sideways slightly but did not say anything further and took another sip.

His curiosity got the better of him though. "Hey Temari…" Naruto began after a few moments, a bit unsure how to broach the subject he wanted to talk about.

"Yeah?" She said absently, flagging down a waitress for another cup as she had already finished the first one.

"I was wondering…" Naruto bit his lip, then chuckled. "Uh, just what do you do when you're not watching me train?"

Temari stiffened visibly and he immediately regretted asking. The girl had known he was going to ask about this sooner or later but it still took her by surprise. She waited until her refill had arrived then answered. "Well, I do my own training, mostly."

"Really?" Naruto exclaimed. Training was one subject he didn't mind discussing with fervour. "Wow, could I watch sometime? I bet you can do some amazing stuff by now!"

Smiling slightly, Temari shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt, maybe you could even join in once or twice."

"That sounds great!" Naruto chugged down the rest of his tea before another thought hit him. "But uh, shouldn't you be doing missions or something?"

"No…"

"Oh, still not feeling better from that Jounin exam? Is that really tough or something?"

Temari was a little unsettled by Naruto's unending barrage of questions but once again replied in the negative. "That's not it."

Naruto narrowed his eyes to thin slits, confused. "Okay then. Are you on vacation?"

"Naruto…" Temari stared at her hands, tracing the ear of her cup with her index-finger. "I'm no longer allowed to be an active Sand-nin."

As expected, Naruto let out a cry of shock. "What? Why not?!" Several other customers turned in their seats to look at him.

Temari's countenance was resigned. "It's because I'm your… your fiancée, Naruto."

"Fiancée?" Naruto was puzzled, not recognizing the word until his lips formed a small o. "The betrothal thing, right?"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, the betrothal… thing."

"But why?" He asked. "That's stupid, why wouldn't they let you be a ninja anymore?" Naruto pointed at her hitai-ate. "You're really strong, and you're…"

Temari raised a hand to her neck and gripped the metal plate with the crude hourglass engraving. "Naruto." She interrupted him, and peered intently into his eyes. "Where exactly do you think I'll go?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is…" She sighed and took a sip of the tea she enjoyed earlier. Too bad it tasted slightly too bitter now. "As part of the betrothal, where do you think I'll be living?"

"I… I hadn't thought about it." Naruto confessed.

Temari shook her head. "No, I didn't think you would have. This is all pretty new to you after all." She paused. "For me as well, but still."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I've already lost my status as an active ninja, what do you think?" She replied, though there was no real sting to her words.

"You'll come to Konoha…" Naruto breathed. With this knowledge, the betrothal became all too real, even more so than when he talked to Temari about it after he found out about it by accident. He hadn't given it much thought at all. In fact, he had pretty much tried denying it had ever taken place, though it had been hard. And just why couldn't Temari remain in active duty anyway?

"I know what you're thinking." Temari said quietly. "But when I accepted it, I knew my career as a Kunoichi was over."

"That's stupid!" Naruto slammed his hands on the small wooden table dividing the two. "Even… even if you'll come to live in the Leaf with… with me… I'll talk with Tsunade-obaa-chan! She'll make you an active ninja again!"

The girl was shaken at his vehemence but her eyes softened. "Thank you, Naruto."

"There's no need for thanks at all!" Naruto growled and folded his arms over his chest, pinning Temari with a resolute stare. "This isn't fair, and I'm going to kick the butts of the old farts on our councils once I become Hokage for putting you through this! And I never take back my words, that's my nindo, _dattebayo_!"

**oOoOo**

Chapter end.

**oOoOo**

**Omake:**

Orange was outraged when it saw its most loyal disciple being led astray by Yugito and Temari. Uzumaki Naruto wearing the colour midnight-blue?! This was an affront to nature!

If it had arms, Orange would have lifted them to the heavens as it cried out in anger. Then, after it regained some semblance of calm, it began to plot. Naruto, nigh-avatar of the bright colour on the Elemental Countries, would once again be shown the light and the females would pay dearly for their treachery.

Orange would not go quietly into the night; it would have its revenge!


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas, Cornuthaum

Note: Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 09:**

**oOoOo**

In all Shinobi villages there were certain districts that provided entertainment to the less… scrupulous of their inhabitants. From Shinobi seeking to relieve the stress of a mission, to wealthy civilians seeking to spend their riches, there were always places that catered to their needs. The… red-light districts were mostly ignored and rarely talked about but they were perfect for one such as Jiraiya who plied his trade of spy master with diligence.

Indeed, who better to garner information from than whores who lay with the powerful, or those that managed to collect debts from the foolish. Everyone talked, but few listened. Jiraiya on the other hand always kept an ear to the ground and plenty of ryou from his career as a writer in hand.

Still, Yugito mused to herself, she did not like meeting up with Jiraiya in one of the less reputable bars even in that kind of district in Sunagakure. The atmosphere was oppressive. A constant buzzing of lecherous murmuring suffused the establishment, coming from drunk patrons with their paid-for companions moulding to their forms. Filtered yellow lighting illuminated the smoke that wafted overhead in thick grey clouds. Even the Nibi was ill at ease, wary of this decrepit cesspool.

Yugito narrowed her ghostly pale-blue orbs at the giant of a man in front of her and reached for the saucer of sake set atop the small table that divided them. This would be her second while Jiraiya was already halfway through his third _bottle_. They had barely spoken with each-other; only exchanging a few drab pleasantries that they both knew served no purpose other than to stall the forthcoming conversation.

"Jiraiya-sama." Yugito started, her tone bland.

The sage had a perpetual blush on his cheeks and peered through half-lidded eyes at the Jounin as if seeing her for the first time. His lips stretched into a lopsided grin. "He's special, isn't he?" He slurred.

"…Yes."

Of course he was talking about Naruto. That was the whole purpose of this meeting. They had been skirting around this matter since Jiraiya had arrived in the hidden Sand.

"I mean... aside from being a jinchuuriki…" Jiraiya decided to forgo the use of his saucer for now and took a swig from the bottle directly.

Yugito frowned. It wasn't normal for Jiraiya to act like this. To show this kind of… weakness. "Yes." She repeated.

He pointed a finger at her. "I'm angry at you, you know."

The Kumo-nin remained silent, she already knew why.

"You didn't hold up your part of the bargain…" Jiraiya hiccuped and lowered his eyes.

"He isn't ready yet." Yugito stated. "His emotional state is volatile and pushing him to use the Kyuubi would only make things worse at the moment. He would not only become a danger to himself, but his allies as well."

Jiraiya waved her explanation off which annoyed her more than a little.

Nii Yugito hated for her words to be ignored.

"It is the quickest way to make him more powerful, before… before they come." His voice grew slightly louder.

"Nevertheless…" Yugito's tone remained even although her brow creased into a frown. "You have seen the progress he has made."

"It's still too slow!" Jiraiya exclaimed and slammed a fist on the table, upsetting the now empty third bottle. It fell down with a sharp chink and Yugito had to catch it before it rolled to the edge and shattered on the floor.

"He is trying to prove he can become strong without using the Kyuubi mindlessly." She whispered, setting the bottle on the table again. "Stronger. And I believe he can, though we will eventually have to teach him how to draw on its power without losing control."

"And you think you can do this?" Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow.

"To be honest…" Yugito looked pensive. "I'm not sure. It'll depend on whether or not it will cooperate like the Nibi does with me."

For the first time she had met him, Jiraiya looked… _old_ and _forlorn_... As if he had made a grievous mistake somewhere. He slumped in his seat and muttered more to himself than his company. "So much time wasted…"

Yugito's lips set into a thin line. "You will have to tell him sooner or later."

"…I know…"

**oOoOo**

Naruto was a Shinobi. As such, he had seen several miraculous sights. Along with those, he had seen some truly terrifying. Orochimaru for one thing. Now though, Naruto wasn't quite sure if the snake-bastard could compare with the fanboy that was Kankuro…

"I love you man." Kankuro gushed in heartfelt tones. He hugged both Naruto and the little red book the blonde had given him to his chest tightly before he ran to his room, giggling madly.

Temari glared at him balefully. "Did you really have to give him that perverted book?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously, dropping onto the couch beside the girl. "He gave me an idea for something and I had to thank him. So I just asked ero-sennin if he could sign a book or something for Kankuro after I finished with Baki-sensei, since he likes that stuff. Ero-sennin said he had to meet with Yugito-sensei somewhere though, so he couldn't give it himself."

Fortunately for Kankuro, it had been the re-released limited edition of Icha Icha Paradise, volume three, still hailed as the best in the series yet. It boasted two extra chapters and full colour illustrations. Not even Kakashi could claim he owned it. Of course, Naruto hadn't realized this so he didn't quite understand Kankuro's reaction.

Temari was about to berate Naruto some more when a slight stumbling behind her caught her attention. She craned her neck and called out. "Good evening, Gaara."

"Heya!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically.

"Hello." Gaara replied and remained rooted at the base of the stairs, wearing a thin cotton shirt and a pair of matching pants.

Then he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, whilst Temari opened her mouth in shock.

"Uh, are you alright, Gaara?" The whiskered teen asked since the redhead seemed slightly dazed to him.

"Yes, I am fine." He cracked a tiny smile, barely perceptible but Temari definitely noticed. "I was… sleeping."

Temari fell into a coughing fit. "W-what?!" She sputtered after recovering and stared with wide eyes at her brother.

"I was sleeping." Gaara affirmed and yawned again. "I… like sleeping. I will do it some more."

With that he left the two dumbstruck blondes behind and did just that.

"Well…" Naruto started, turning to Temari. "At least now we know what he's been doing all this time at least?"

The girl was too busy gaping like a fish to answer him.

**oOoOo**

A week passed by quickly in a monotonous regimen of training, lectures from Baki, hanging out with the three Sand-siblings and even more training. Naruto spent little time with Jiraiya, even though he wanted to. He thought the older man would have been impressed with his new skills yet for some reason, Naruto got the feeling Jiraiya had been avoiding him. Yugito hadn't said anything on the matter and it was starting to annoy Naruto. Most of the time Yugito would be brutally honest with him, usually in regards to his training, at other times she'd just clamp up and ignore or deflect his questions altogether.

At least there were some odd things here and there that proved interesting. Gaara, it turned out, really wasn't kidding when he said he liked sleeping. Though the redhead tried to keep it from interfering with his duties as Kazekage, Naruto was hard pressed to snap up enough time to talk to his fellow jinchuuriki. Yugito had explained to Naruto, along with Temari and Kankuro with Gaara's permission, that Jiraiya had layered an extra seal on the one Gaara already had. She spouted a whole slew of mumbo jumbo about seals that Naruto was only half able to follow. When you spent time with a seal master like Jiraiya, it was inevitable that you learned something about it, but Naruto was just a beginner. At least he understood that the purpose of the seal was to simply filter out Shukaku's constant presence in the back of Gaara's mind.

When he heard that, Naruto's respect for the other boy went up by several notches since Gaara had never complained about _that_. Although Naruto had a tough life with Kyuubi inside of him, he at least didn't have to listen to it ramble on inanely about wanting to eat him or whatever it was that the stupid fox wanted to do. It probably wanted to break out, kill lots of people and destroy even more stuff. Naruto was quite sure that he didn't want to listen to a constant rendition of that.

As the last day of that week drew to a close, Naruto took a small reprieve from training and found himself on the parapets of Sunagakure's outer wall. He had never truly appreciated its scope. Even the walls of Konohagakure didn't come close to this but then again, the Leaf didn't have to weather a sandstorm at least ten times a year.

He waved towards a patrolling Suna-nin and sat down to watch the sunset. It really was quite breathtaking the way the desert air transformed from crystal blue to fiery reds and vibrant yellows.

"This is a pretty good spot you found, Naruto." A rumbling voice spoke from beside him.

To his credit, Naruto barely twitched. "Hey ero-sennin."

Jiraiya sat down next to him with a grunt. The sage wanted to complain about the liberal use of his nickname but decided against it.

Naruto knew what this was about before Jiraiya said another word.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" He said simply.

A sigh preceded his answer. "Yeah."

Naruto glanced to left and at his teacher. "For how long?"

"Long."

"…oh."

Jiraiya looked distinctly uncomfortable and he adjusted the large scroll he kept with him on his lower back. "Look, Naruto, I…"

"I know. Akatsuki, right?" Naruto smiled though it didn't reach to his eyes.

He missed his time together with the pervert, even though he tried not to show it. The past three months had been a wild rollercoaster ride of events and emotions. Even more so than the one and a half years he spent on the road with the perverted sennin. It had been simpler.

The two watched the sun sink below the horizon. An age passed while the warm colours of the day surrendered to the cool blackness of night.

Jiraiya once again spoke up, breaking the silence. "I have to talk to the Tsuchikage, a stubborn bastard if there ever was one. And there's some trouble in the north which I have to investigate."

"Ah…" Naruto wanted to sound enthusiastic but he found himself unable to. He turned to the older man. "Why can't you-…"

"Naruto." Jiraiya interrupted him, looking down at his student with a smile. "You have a choice."

"I… I do?" The blonde asked, nonplussed.

"You can come with me. But you know what I will train you to use…" Jiraiya tilted his head. "Or you can stay here until I get back, possibly as much as eight months from now, with Yugito training you."

Naruto stared at him, disbelievingly.

"It's your choice." Jiraiya assured him. "I won't think any less of you whatever you choose."

Something was lodged in his throat and Naruto could feel something prickling behind his eyes as he swallowed loudly. He was so tempted to go with the man he respected… No, it went farther than just respect.

But…

Naruto averted his gaze and stared at his lap. "I want to grow strong on my own, ero-sennin." He knew what he wanted, but why then, did it seem to be the most difficult choice Naruto had ever been forced to make?

"I see…" Jiraiya trailed off. He looked disappointed yet at the same time accepting. "I thought you might say that."

"Ero-sennin…"

"Naruto, I'm proud of you." He grinned at his student and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Do your best."

Naruto's lips trembled and his chest ached. Seconds later, Jiraiya was startled to find the boy's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and Naruto's face buried into his stomach. The blonde hugged the person who might as well have been his father. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said, his voice muffled.

Jiraiya smiled and moved his large hand from Naruto's shoulder to the top of his head, ruffling his hair. "Don't say that." He grumbled after a pause.

Naruto looked up at him, surprised.

"Anything but ero-sennin coming from you is just creepy."

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde wiped his eyes on the back of his arm as surreptitiously as he could. Even so, a small but honest smile made its way on to his face.

**oOoOo**

Temari observed Naruto the next morning with keen interest. Before heading out a little under an hour earlier, Gaara had told her that the white-haired sennin Jiraiya had left Sunagakure again. She hadn't seen him around a lot, other than when he came around to ask where Naruto was. Yet, even then, she hadn't been able to fathom the impact his departure had on the other blonde.

Naruto smiled at her, shared tea with her and even made a few jokes. But it was all painfully superficial. Temari couldn't claim she knew Naruto all that well, though she was trying to make an effort, but the boy was obviously very saddened even though he tried his best to hide it.

"What are you thinking about, Temari?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Temari was startled out of her thoughts and realized she'd been staring at him for a while now. "Oh, uh, nothing." She replied intelligently.

Apparently satisfied, Naruto went silent, munching on one of the lumpy rice balls he had made.

Temari grimaced. Why was it still so hard to get a good conversation going with the boy? She glanced at him while she finished her tea and cleared her throat. "So… What are your plans for the day?"

"Yugito-sensei and Baki-sensei said they'd be busy today, so I have the whole day to focus on what I want to." He hummed, looking thoughtful. "I'll probably fine-tune the Air Bullet technique and then start on a personal thing I want to work on. After that… I dunno, maybe read the scrolls ero-sennin left for me."

He was referring to three scrolls that the sage had apparently placed in his room during the night before he left. Temari was a little unsettled that the man had managed to do so without anyone noticing.

Temari nodded and stood up, moving to the kitchen sink to rinse her empty cup. Once she was finished, she closed the water tap and paused for a moment, drumming her fingers. She turned to Naruto and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Hey, Naruto…"

"Hmm?" He answered and swallowed the last bite of his rice ball and looked up across the table.

"How about you and I just spend a little time together today?" She cocked her head and smiled. "I could show you a few things and maybe we could train together later on."

Naruto countenance was apprehensive for a split second before he grinned. "Sure!" 

**oOoOo**

"WAHOOOOO!!"

Temari couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's excited cry as they rode atop her battle-fan on chakra-induced wind currents high above the hidden Sand. She hadn't been kidding about her offer a little earlier, and gave the boy a tour of Sunagakure like no other.

"There's the Kazekage tower!" Naruto yelled, voice raised to carry over the rush of air around them and pointing in the distance.

Temari was well acquainted to seeing Suna from their current perspective of course, but it was still entertaining to see Naruto so gleeful for once. Lately he had been a little too serious and morose about things than she liked. The girl shook her head at that and tapped Naruto on the shoulder.

He turned to her, all smiles. "What is it?"

She pointed over the rim of the fan. "Let's set down."

Naruto looked disappointed but nodded. "Alright!"

"Hold on!" Temari shouted in warning and banked to the right, towards a deserted field she sometimes used for training purposes. While not one used by Shinobi normally, it was just north of a small park she liked to visit and relax in.

"Hold on to wha-WHOAH!" Naruto exclaimed and threw his arms around the only thing that seemed reasonable lest he fall off.

Temari laughed again when she felt the boy cling on to her. Apparently he didn't think to use his chakra to cling to the fan's surface. Though she had to admit… it felt kind of nice. They touched down not too long after that, and Naruto quickly moved away from Temari as though burnt, realizing what he'd done.

"Sorry about that, Temari!" He apologized.

Waving him off, the girl assured him it had been no problem. She stayed still for a few moments, regaining her breath after folding her large weapon and placing it on her back. While not a very chakra intensive technique, it still drained more than she would have liked. Flying on her fan was not something she usually did, and especially not with the extra load of another person.

Naruto, meanwhile, took note of his surroundings. He raised his hand to his brow, shielding his eyes from the sun. They stood at the edge of a small park, sparse though it might have been compared to the Leaf's lush greenery. The field they were facing, however, was large and empty, devoid of any kind of plant life. The ground itself bore many large craggy lines and holes though. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would have guessed a gigantic animal had been here, ripping up the pale yellow dirt for its own amusement.

"I come here to practice my jutsu." Temari explained and chuckled. "I'm pretty much the only one who uses this place though, but it's perfect for me."

"Ah." Naruto blinked, dropping his arm down to his side.

"How about we get in a little training?" Temari asked.

Normally, Naruto would be hesitant. But if what he remembered from her fight against Shikamaru, and what the boy had told him of her exploits against the red-haired Kunoichi from Oto, there was no doubt in his mind that Temari was a very capable ninja.

He grew excited and took off his shirt, already unzipped at the front to bear the heat of Suna more easily. Dropping it to the ground, Naruto grinned toothily. "Alright! I can't wait to see what you're capable of, Temari."

"Heh, boys are always so excitable." Temari grinned right back at him. "So how shall we do this? A light taijutsu spar? Or something a little more interesting?" She asked, lifting her fan from her back and setting it on the ground beside her with a loud thump.

Naruto shrugged. "Just hand to hand for now, I think."

"Fair enough" Temari set her oversized ninja-tool against one of the trees behind them and adjusted her purple shift slightly. She reached behind her back to tighten the knot of her red sash and went through a series of light stretches to loosen her muscles.

Naruto mirrored her routine, though he couldn't help but admire the flexibility of Temari's frame. When he caught himself doing so, he mentally slapped himself and shook his head.

"Something the matter, Naruto?" Temari asked innocently.

"No, nothing!" He denied quickly.

Temari knew he had been looking and felt oddly proud, She had even returned the favour in a slightly more covert fashion. Now more than ever, she was convinced that she had done right in pushing Naruto into buying that mesh under-shirt. Temari tried not to notice his very nicely developing muscles too much though.

After a few moments their stretching drew to a close and Naruto started shaking out his limbs when they walked a little further into the field.

"Alright, ready?" Temari asked as they faced each other.

Naruto smiled and inclined his head, slipping into an easy stance. He stretched out his hand in front of him, and Temari quickly followed his lead, also raising her arm to rest the bridge of her extremity against his.

As if that had been the cue, Temari lashed out quickly with her hand, hoping to catch Naruto off-guard. But the boy hadn't been training like a maniac for nothing and swung his left leg in an arc across the ground, tilting his head slightly to dodge the blow. He followed up smoothly, shifting his weight to his right leg to snap up his left in a swift kick.

Temari blocked it with a raised knee and unfolded her limb immediately to try and nail Naruto in the midsection. As expected, he dodged to the side and retaliated immediately with his own attack.

After using her palms to counter his fists, Temari jabbed a foot at his knees. Naruto jumped up to avoid it, but couldn't find an opening quick enough to strike. Temari on the other hand had no such problems. She spun around and swung her leg at him. By this time though, Naruto had already landed and ducked underneath the attack then rose immediately to his full length, hoping to catch the girl with an uppercut.

He was fast and would have hit her, but Temari was already leaning backwards. Naruto was surprised to find that she continued on, planting her hands on the ground and attempted to hit his chin with her toes. Naruto batted her feet to the side and stepped closer, pressing the Kunoichi for space.

They continued in this vein for many minutes, with Temari, more often than not, taking the initiative. This was something of an anathema for Naruto, and definitely not something he would have imagined himself doing several months ago. For all his life he had been the one to charge headlong into a fight, flailing his limbs with abandon, and mostly relying on his own stamina more than his skill to get any hits in. Never had he expected to learn a fighting-style that was so heavily based on defensive manoeuvres as Suisei.

Now however, as opposed to when he took the offensive constantly, Naruto felt like he could last forever, dodging and deflecting any strikes and reacting to them with his own while always staying close enough to do so. This was something which Temari had certainly noticed from his many training sessions with Yugito, but had yet to experience for herself.

As if to accentuate that point, she overstretched on a punch that got moved to the side by an open palm nudging her elbow and caught a kick with her other arm.

"Nngh!" Temari skidded along the ground with the force of the blow. "You're stronger than you look, Naruto." She said grudgingly and rubbed the limb while she backed off for a moment.

Naruto responded with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." Temari assured him and once again launched herself towards the other blonde.

No further words were exchanged and the spar grew increasingly heated. A lot of Temari's time had been spent observing Naruto's training so it was not surprising that it had also given her an inkling on how to use his own style against him. While Naruto might not fall for it once he mastered Suisei, it was definitely worth giving a shot now. She was getting slightly annoyed with not being able to get a lot of hits in, and if there was one thing Temari had no shortage in, it was pride.

She never eased up on her attacks, but it came as a shock to Naruto when he moved to avoid one of her attacks, then realizing it to be a feint and find her other fist waiting for him to catch it solidly in cheek.

His head snapped to the side, and while he contemplated the pain of the hit, he shouldn't have been too surprised that the air suddenly left his lungs as he received a well aimed shin in the stomach. 

Temari might not be focused on close-combat, preferring long ranged wind jutsu, but that didn't mean she couldn't hold her own regardless. After all, she fully intended to be able to keep up with a Jounin one day, and one couldn't do that by becoming a one-trick pony. A Jounin needed to be well-versed in a broad spectrum of ninja abilities, so naturally she could do no less. Naruto would have agreed, but he was too busy saying hello to the dirt as the force of Temari's strike sent him sprawling to the ground.

Temari had been expecting some cursing, perhaps even a few angry words aimed directly at her. However, when Naruto picked himself up, wincing as he patted himself off, he had a broad grin on his face that took her slightly by surprise.

"That was _awesome_!" Naruto cheered once Temari moved closer to him to make sure she hadn't hurt him too badly. "I hadn't expected that, Temari!"

"Uhm, thanks?" The girl raised an eyebrow and flicked her eyes towards his stomach. "Are you alright?"

"Sure!" He crouched into an attack position immediately. "Let's keep going, I hadn't been expecting you to be so sneaky!"

Temari would have made a comment about how being "sneaky" was part of being a ninja but she noticed that he seemed to be truly having fun sparring with her. As her lips stretched into an amused smile, she found that the same went for her.

After they continued on for almost two hours, Temari was starting to think that she might be insane. Naruto pushed her to her limits and beyond. Never before had she truly put in as much effort into this kind of training. This was partly because her choices for sparring partners were not very ideal, but mostly since no-one other than her had ever shown true excitement about training. Temari's brothers and sensei were in a word; dull.

Naruto however, was a glutton for punishment, and Temari supposed that she was as well. When they finally dragged themselves to the tree line where Temari had set aside her battle-fan, they slumped to the ground together, side by side and on their backs. 

Silently, Temari stared at Naruto who was grinning right back at her. An honest smile found her way onto her lips despite the sweat suffusing her clothes and the bruises marring her skin.

"That was fun, Temari-chan." Naruto said simply.

She knew she should have been at least a little surprised by the suffix added to her name, but she returned the favour just as easily. "Yes it was, Naruto-kun." Temari agreed with a weary nod and she decided that she would definitely be training with Naruto a lot more from now on.

A little distance away, Yugito smirked at the interaction between the teens. She was happy to see that the two of them could work together on taking Naruto's mind off of Jiraiya's departure and perhaps develop the relationship between them a little further. She had been looking for Naruto since her meeting with Gaara had been cut short so Yugito thought the boy might want to talk about his training so far. And when she found him and Temari an hour earlier, she had hidden herself amongst the trees with a simple genjutsu and observed their "little" session.

Now, more than ever before, Yugito truly felt justified in taking a personal hand in Naruto's training instead of following Jiraiya's instructions to the letter. The boy was coming into his own, truly strong and skilled. Of course, there would come a time when they needed to delve deeper into the specifics of the Kyuubi and what it meant to Naruto. That'd come soon enough, but for now Yugito would allow him to spend some time with Temari.

She sighed wistfully. Even though the two of them had been forced into engagement, Yugito was glad to note that they were become very fond of each other, though perhaps they didn't truly realize it themselves yet.

Catching herself by surprise, the Jounin whispered a name, remembering the heartache of a time long past and of things that might have been. If only she had taken the chance, perhaps Yugito wouldn't have been alone like she had... The Nibi grumbled a little at the direction her vessel's thoughts were taking and snapped her out of it.

With one final look at her student and his betrothed, Yugito shook her head slightly, formed a one-handed seal and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

**oOoOo**

Chapter end.


	10. Chapter 10

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas, Cornuthaum

Note: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 10:**

**oOoOo**

The relationship between Naruto and Temari, as it turned out, was peculiar. It was not that they disliked each other, despite their forced engagement, far from it in fact. But it was somewhat disturbing that the moments where they got along the most was when they tried to beat the snot out of one another on the deserted field where Temari usually used to practice her jutsu alone.

One could say that their fervour for training together was fast approaching proportions of the Gai and Lee kind, which would usually be a bad thing, but the effect it had on their development could not be denied. Naruto still spent a lot of time in the day training with Yugito - and Baki two times a week - but when he was finally allowed to train on his own, he was quick to drag Temari along.

The resulting sparring sessions between them improved both Naruto's and Temari's skill in taijutsu by leaps and bounds, if only for the fact that they just spent so many hours exchanging blows.

Naruto also found out that Temari boasted a wealth of knowledge that rivalled Baki on his best day. He would have said her skill with wind jutsu topped the turbaned Jounin, but he had learned to never speak ill of the man. Usually on the pain of becoming the target of said element and finding himself flying high through the air before crashing to the earth once again because of it. Needless to say, after the first time Baki was forced to use it on him after he failed to pay attention to his lectures, Naruto became quite a bit more attentive.

Still, Temari wasn't called Wind Mistress for nothing, and her tips on chakra manipulation to obtain the maximum result with wind based techniques were invaluable. His sessions with Baki certainly helped as well, but it was still theory, and he hoped they were going to move past that soon. Naruto always had been more of a hands-on person when it came to studying.

As far as his ninjutsu were concerned, he had had been taught several more low ranked techniques from Yugito after he had proven that he was able to perform the Rasengan one-handed. Yet he continued to practice with it, because if he would be able to form one in each hand at the same time, she had promised to teach him a technique of her own design, one that really made things go… _boom_. Well, there were many ways to motivate Naruto, but that one was definitely one of the main contenders. He even managed to get some headway into turning the jutsu some of the Sand-nin used to cool themselves off into his own personalized "ultimate defense".

Yugito had quickly squashed the idea of it becoming anywhere near ultimate, but he wasn't going to be deterred. He tried teaching it to Temari as well, but she had just stared at him, incredulously. Apparently only those with a very large amount of chakra or exceptional chakra control could afford to use the technique even sparingly. Kankuro had, apparently, failed to mention that particular fact and Temari was amazed that Naruto was planning to take it quite a step further.

The days were long and tough, but very fruitful. Temari insisted on taking enough breaks now and again though. Naruto had objected, but found that a stinging tirade on the necessity of those interludes was possibly even worse than a trademarked Sakura-punch applied to his skull. He promptly agreed to the Temari's suggestions.

Often they would just walk through Sunagakure, talking about everything they could think of. Sometimes they were joined by Yugito, who rarely offered anything in the way of personal history, but was always there to listen to them should they need it and gave plenty of advice. This was especially true for Naruto concerning matters of the fairer sex. Other times they were joined by Kankuro when he was off-duty, and Gaara's older brother was always in for a joke or two.

Rarely though, and much to Naruto's disappointment, did Gaara find time to spend with them. Naruto was optimistic that that might change soon enough. After all, aside from his duties as Kazekage, the redhead had a lot of sleep to catch up on.

A month went by in the blink of an eye like this, so it was with a modicum of surprise that one day, Baki simply announced that the time for theory was done… for the moment. It was late in the afternoon and the two were heading towards training-field twenty-three.

"Naruto." Baki glanced at the blonde beside him. "I will have to leave for a while in two days, so this will be the last opportunity for me to instruct you for some time."

"But all we've done is study theory on jutsu creation, manipulation and execution!" Naruto cried out in indignation. "…uh… sir." He added, quailing under the Jounin's even stare.

Baki could be scarier than all his other teachers combined without even trying.

"And those lessons will serve you well. Otherwise I would not have imparted such knowledge to you."

Naruto couldn't say anything to deny it. It had helped him with fine-tuning and further understanding the techniques he already knew and no doubt those he was still going to learn. On top of that, it gave him some ideas for creating his own techniques.

The boy's attention was drawn to his surroundings once they entered the training-field, which was pretty standard if not for a much larger amount of target dummies lined up on the far side.

"So, uh, what are we going to do today then, Baki-sensei?" Naruto asked. He fought to keep a grin off of his face, knowing that only one thing could come after so much theory.

Baki stared at him for a moment longer before answering. "Today I will instruct you on a technique that is known as the Shunshin."

Naruto's eyebrow rose on its own accord, he hadn't been expecting that. "That teleport thing?"

Baki seemed almost disappointed by Naruto's question. "I suppose that comes as close as any other word."

"Uhm…"

"Tell me what you think you know about the technique." Baki pressed.

Naruto frowned and rubbed his chin. "Well… When I saw it, the person… disappeared from where he or she was standing and reappeared somewhere else. That's kinda… teleport-y, isn't it?"

Baki let out a deep breath through his nose. "You should work on your perception, Naruto. You still take things at face-value and that will get you killed." He motioned for the boy to sit. "The Shunshin technique is performed by focusing a large burst of chakra into the movement of your body. Of course, the human brain and body cannot keep up with this high speed for long so it can't be used for anything other than short distance travel."

Naruto rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forwards, craning his neck to look up at Baki's visible eye. "So you just move really, _really_ fast?"

"Fast enough for it to become nearly instantaneous, yes." Baki walked a little further away from the blonde. "The chakra requirement and strain it puts on the human body are extraordinary. Like I said it is used for short distance travelling, but it could be used for a surprise attack or escaping for instance." He smiled lightly. "There is only one person known to have used it effectively in battle for longer periods of time."

"Who?" Naruto asked, perplexed.

"Shunshin no Shisui."

Naruto's lips parted slightly and he blinked in surprise. "Er… who?"

Baki grunted. "Perhaps you wouldn't know, but he was one of the strongest of the Uchiha."

"Oh." Naruto didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Now, are you ready to begin?"

"Like you need to ask, Baki-sensei!" Naruto crowed, happy that he was going to learn such a useful technique and scrambled to his feet. "Let's do it!"

"Hmmph." The Jounin snorted at his excitement. "Sit back down, Naruto, I'll need to tell you the theory behind it first."

Naruto groaned in despair but did as he was commanded.

The explanation for the Shunshin was surprisingly simple though, even if the execution for it wasn't. It mainly consisted of amassing a considerable amount of chakra in your body and expending it all in a quick burst of movement. It required complete focus and a severe degree of chakra control. Thankfully, Naruto was less worried about his control as he had once been, his daily routine of constantly fine tuning the amount of chakra used in everything he did had improved his control phenomenally. But even _that_ couldn't prevent a shudder that ran through his frame as he pictured his limbs being blown off by excess chakra build-up.

His first attempt had nonetheless been… enlightening. When he had regained consciousness after running straight into one of the target dummies, Baki merely said that he needed to work on his focus and try again and again for experience would be as much a factor as anything else. Increase in speed was all well and good, but you also needed to develop the reflexes to cope with it.

The initial try, painful though it had been, only served to spur Naruto on to spend all night trying it almost non-stop until he got it right. Baki. in turn, expected no less. But before the older man left, since he had no intention on missing out on his sleep, he gave Naruto one final piece of advice.

"You have more chakra than anyone I have ever met, Naruto. Use it."

**oOoOo**

"Temari-chan!" Naruto yelled up the stairs, eager to get underway. "Temari-chan, hurry up!"

"I'm coming, keep your pants on!" Came the muffled shout from above.

Naruto tapped his foot on the hardwood floor impatiently. Yugito was busy assisting Gaara, though she wouldn't say with what, and Baki was gone for some kind of long term mission along with Kankuro. That left a whole day for personal training! Well… with Temari anyway, which was even more fun.

'Maybe today she'll let me use her fan again!' Naruto wondered, even though the first - and last - time he had been able to try and use the large weapon the results had been disastrous. The backlash of his failed attempt at her trademark Kamaitachi technique left him with a multitude of gashes and a mild concussion. Temari had scolded him for over an hour, worried that he might have damaged her fan, but more importantly, himself. It had taken Naruto by surprise when the girl attended to his wounds and fussed about his stupidity and lack of common-sense.

Soft footfalls shook him out of his reverie and he swiveled his head to look at Temari coming down the steps of the staircase. "About time!" He mocked her good-naturedly.

Temari tried to glare. "Don't make me hit you already, Naruto-kun."

"Like you could." Naruto retorted, sticking out his tongue.

The girl punched his shoulder lightly and chuckled. "Are you ready to go then?"

"I was ready ten minutes ago, you were the one who took ages to get dressed." Naruto grinned and pointed at Temari as he eyed her up and down.

Temari had foregone the traditional shift she used to several weeks ago. It was simply impractical in the extensive training sessions with Naruto. Instead, she had opted to wear beige, skin-tight shorts along with a tan wrap-around skirt. A matching tan sports-bra covered by a simple beige t-shirt cut-off at her midriff finished the outfit. Though it brought perhaps a little too much attention to her well-toned stomach than Temari would have liked, it was very comfortable and offered her the freedom of movement she needed to keep up with Naruto.

The first time he saw it, Naruto had swallow several times to wet a suddenly dry throat. Temari smiled at the memory and traced her fingers along her four pigtails to make sure they were still bound in place properly and moved out of the living room into the hallway with Naruto right behind her.

Arriving at the front door, she reached down and put on her sandals. When she rose to her full length again, Temari tapped her feet toe-first on the ground lightly and hefted her battle-fan over her shoulder. She had left it next to the entrance after a particularly gruelling training session the evening before.

She watched Naruto pull on his own sandals and idly wished that Naruto would wear the mesh shirt she had picked out for him when they first went shopping together. A shame he went with a normal white t-shirt during their training sessions nowadays.

Temari shook her head to clear it of those thoughts and slid the front door open, nodding to Naruto. "Let's go, Naruto-kun."

**oOoOo**

"Fuuton: Dai Kamaitachi!"

Naruto watched in awe as Temari's technique wreaked havoc on their surroundings. A whirlwind burst forth from where she had swung her fan and ripped forwards in a great arc. Large gashes were carved in the ground and dust spew into the air wherever the blades of wind touched the earth.

"Go Temari-chan!" He yelled, waving his arms wildly as the technique dissipated.

"Heh." Temari snapped her fan closed and walked over to Naruto who was grinning broadly. "Your turn."

The boy nodded eagerly and summoned five shadow clones. Without a word, though with a few dirty looks, the clones ran a small distance away and transformed into simple wooden training dummies.

Temari shook her head at the display. "Show off."

"You're just upset that you can't summon as many as I can." Naruto said teasingly.

He had taught his favoured technique to Temari some time ago. And although she would never be able to summon quite as many as Naruto, he had been surprised when she had been able to summon at least twenty with quite some effort. Temari had explained that she possessed the largest pool of chakra out of the three Suna siblings, barely, but even she wouldn't be able to do much after summoning that many clones. At least she did if Gaara didn't tap into his additional demonic source in any case.

Naruto shook his head and focused on the training dummies. With a flurry of movement, his hands darted through a short series of seals and puffed up his chest, cheeks billowing out comically.

'Fuuton: Tenkuu Dangan!'

He jerked forwards and spat out several great balls of swirling, compressed air in rapid succession. With a loud whoosh, they shot out towards the arrayed line of targets with high speed. The first impacted on the outer right and tore through the midsection like it was nothing more than paper, the next one got decapitated neatly and the next two followed the fate of the first, exploding into smoke a second after the technique hit.

The fifth clone apparently didn't want to perish in the same way. He dispelled the transformation and ducked, allowing the last ball of air to pass harmlessly overhead. As soon as it did, the replica jumped to his feet, shaking his fist at Naruto and Temari. "Haha, you can't get me you ba-…"

A scowling Naruto had expected this and sent an additional air bullet the clone's way, killing it instantly when it got up again. He turned to Temari who raised a questioning eyebrow. "They're so annoying sometimes!" Naruto huffed.

The situation with his Kage Bunshin technique was getting really ridiculous. Every time he summoned a small group of them to do anything, they started displaying what seemed to be exaggerated parts of Naruto's personality. And oddly enough, this was absent when he produced a great deal of them. He had asked Yugito about it, but she had shrugged, explaining she didn't know what was going on either.

Naruto moved over to the backpack he had brought with a sigh and reached into it, extracting his canteen before sitting down underneath the shade of the park's tree line. Temari joined him a moment later and he handed her his canteen after taking a swig of water.

She took it with visible gratitude and wiped her brow. "Naruto-kun, I've been meaning to ask you something." She spoke after drinking some of the liquid herself.

"Hmm? What about?" Naruto leaned backwards, propping himself on his elbows and spreading his legs out comfortably.

"Well, Jiraiya gave you some scrolls right?" Temari noticed Naruto stiffening slightly but didn't comment on it. "Did you ever read them?"

"…not yet." Naruto murmured. "Ero-sennin left a note with it, he said I couldn't open them unless Yugito-sensei was there with me."

"Why haven't you done that yet?" Temari asked, nonplussed. "Aren't you curious?"

"I know I am." A voice told them from above.

The two teens immediately looked up. Sitting on a thick branch of the tree Naruto and Temari found themselves under was Yugito. She smiled down at the teens, a picture of perfect innocence.

"You need a hobby, Yugito-sensei." Naruto frowned.

"What, I can't spy on my student?" Yugito placed a hand on her chest, right above her heart. "I'm disappointed, Naruto, you wound me."

Naruto's eyebrow began to tick violently. Over the past month, Yugito had gotten increasingly more forward with her teasing. Including…

"Besides, I need to make sure that you and your future wife don't do anything improper before you get married, after all."

"Sensei…" Naruto growled warningly.

Temari hid her laughter behind a series of loud coughs.

"Oh loosen up, Naruto." Yugito swung backwards, hooking her legs on the branch and frowned at him as she hung upside down, which ruined the effect. "How about we take a look at the scrolls now then?"

Temari tilted her head. "Shall I leave?"

"No, no." Naruto sighed. "Please stay."

Yugito unhooked her legs and flipped her body in the air to land silently in a crouch. "You brought them with you, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Naruto affirmed and reached for his backpack. He rummaged around for a moment, peering inside, and took out three differently coloured scrolls. With a grunt, he sat back down, squinting against a stray beam of sunlight breaking through the canopy. He set down the two smallest scrolls on his lap and unfurled the largest of the three.

Yugito was, by this point, peering over his shoulder. "Oh…" She nodded as she recognized its contents. "Better save that one for last, Naruto."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, pausing from trying to figure out what the long list of symbols painted on the inside of the scroll meant. "Why?"

"That's a storage scroll, Naruto-kun." Temari piped in, leaning over slightly and nodding.

"It could contain anything really."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the scroll and rolled it back up for now. "It had better not have his pervy books sealed inside."

Yugito chortled. "I highly doubt it."

"Open the other two." Temari urged.

"Alright, alright." Naruto picked up one of the smaller scrolls and scanned its contents.

"Ah, I see." Yugito snatched the scroll from the boy, ignoring his ensuing protests, and smiled. "I think Jiraiya-sama wants you to start on sealing in earnest, Naruto."

Naruto was more than a little surprised at that. "Eh? Why all of a sudden…?"

Yugito grabbed the remaining scroll and nodded as if her suspicions were confirmed when she read what was written inside. "These two scrolls contain basic teachings of sealing techniques." She lifted one of the two scrolls. "Tag seal creation and manipulation." Yugito held up the other. "And storage sealing."

"That's really useful!" Temari exclaimed, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I'm a little jealous, Naruto-kun."

Naruto stared at Temari as if she'd grown a second head. "Why would you be jealous? You can learn this stuff with me! Uh, right, Yugito-sensei?"

The Kumo-nin shrugged. "Why not? I doubt Jiraiya-sama would mind." She flipped her long ponytail over her shoulder and tossed the two scrolls back to Naruto. "It makes sense now that he didn't want you to get started on it without me present. Seals are very easy to make mistakes with, and I don't want you going off and blowing off your hands with a faulty self-made explosive tag."

"…" Naruto was silent for a few seconds until quite possibly the broadest grin of his life threatened to split his face in two. It severely disturbed the two females present. "I could make my own explosive tags?" He asked, barely believing Yugito's words.

Yugito scowled and bonked him on the head.

"Ow!" Naruto yelped and rubbed his scalp. "What was that for?"

"Don't get any weird ideas!" Temari warned him with a glare to accompany Yugito's blow. She was going to nip this in the bud before it even started. "I don't want to marry some kind of mad bomber, got it?"

"Aw come on, I wouldn't do that." The boy complained and coughed as he averted his eyes when the females present clearly didn't believe him. "…really."

Yugito cleared her throat, attempting to regain the attention of the two. "Ahem. As I was saying, I don't want you to attempt to create anything without my direct supervision. I don't want to explain to Jiraiya-sama that I let his student blow himself up, okay?"

Naruto sighed and nodded.

Yugito looked at him shrewdly for a moment then continued. "Aside from explosive tags there are some instructions on elemental enhancement seals but those will come later. I think Jiraiya-sama wants you to learn how to make and use storage seals to obtain whatever is inside of the larger scroll. It is most likely keyed to your blood in any case."

Naruto scratched the side of his nose. "Uhm, okay."

"Alright then." Yugito watched Naruto stuff the three scrolls back into his pack. "I think we'll start in a day or two." She offered a nod to Temari and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I'll leave the two of you be for now. I'm sure you still have a lot to do." She halted and smirked. "Temari, I hope for you Naruto's stamina is as great in other areas as it is in training."

"Yugito-sensei!" Naruto bellowed, his face beet-red, though Yugito had vanished immediately after that last comment.

Temari didn't bother to hide her laughter this time, nor the pink tinge on her cheeks.

**oOoOo**

In the week that followed, Naruto learned a new definition on the word precise. Seals required a finesse that he never bothered to acquire and it especially required patience, something Naruto lacked for the most part. At least the meditation sessions helped whenever he grew frustrated with it all.

This proved especially true when Yugito and Temari had to drill some extra calligraphy lessons into his head. To an onlooker, it might have been somewhat funny, but the crash course had been anything but to Naruto. Having two women explaining how the gentle and steady flow of an ink brush on paper should come natural to him, and then barely holding back their laughter as he clumsily drew symbols on said paper was almost more than he could take.

It had taken a grand total of eighty-seven snapped brushes, about a great oak's worth of paper and around ten litres of ink before Naruto had finally gained some expertise in calligraphy. Still, he forced himself to sit down and grit his teeth, fully intent on mastering these basic sealing techniques. Especially after Temari picked it up much quicker than he had.

Explosive tags and elemental enhancement tags – like the ones that could add an electric charge to a thrown kunai – were very finicky. There was no room for error, and if one was made then at best a seal wouldn't work at all. In the worst case scenario, the seal could loop on itself and overload with varying results. Naruto liked explosions, sure, but not ones that could take his life or those that he cared about.

At least he picked up the methods behind sealing items and the like into scrolls much faster. As for the scroll containing a sealed… something though, he set that aside. He was curious on what it might obtain, but for some reason he felt like he should wait a little while before finding out what it was.

That night, a week after starting to study seals, Naruto was in his room, doing something he thought he would never do until he became Hokage. He sat at a simple desk, one of the few pieces of furniture placed in the guest bedroom, ink brush in hand, staring at small pieces of paper in front of him. Aside from a futon, desk and two cabinets there was nothing else of note and left Naruto with plenty of free space to move around. Just the way he liked it, though he rather missed having some plants to take care of.

His brush movements slowed momentarily, and wondered if he should ask Gaara about getting some. Then realizing just what he was doing, Naruto shook his head and continued. He didn't want to make a mistake in the seal this time. It was a relative simple one; a low yield explosive tag. Or at least, that was what it was supposed to be, he'd have to let Yugito inspect it before he would try it out.

Naruto dipped the tip of the brush in his inkwell and squinted down at the tag, or would be tag, rather. He was about to add another tiny symbol until his concentration was shattered when someone knocked on his bedroom door. His hand slipped and Naruto swore under his breath.

"Come in!" He called out after crumpling the tag up in a small paper wad and tossing it in the garbage bin set at his feet. It was already half full with previously failed pieces of paper.

The door swung open smoothly, and Yugito stepped inside. She glanced around and grinned slightly when she noted his numerous erroneous and scrapped attempts at sealing. "Hello Naruto, I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

"Nah." Naruto dismissed her worries and set his brush and ink to the side so he wouldn't accidentally tip anything over. "I was just trying some things, that's all."

"You just like cursing for no reason then, huh?" Yugito remarked.

The boy's eyebrow twitched. "It's nothing." He affirmed. "So uh…" Naruto rotated his chair until he faced his teacher. "What brings you here, Yugito-sensei?"

"I think…" Yugito began and fixed Naruto with a piercing stare, all business. "…it's time we meet this demon of yours."

That took Naruto by surprise and his eyes widened. "Wha?"

Yugito sat down on his futon. "Don't you remember what I said in the hospital?"

Naruto, in fact, didn't until now. Or maybe he just didn't _want_ to. "Yugito-sensei…" He lowered his gaze and grasped his knees tightly with his hands. "Do we have to?"

"Hmm." Yugito sighed, resigned that this was going to happen. "Naruto, as much as you don't want it to be, Kyuubi is a part of your life, and sooner or later you're going to have to use its power."

"But I thought-!"

"Let me finish." Yugito held up a hand and forestalled his incoming complaints. "I'm not saying you should rely entirely on it. You're still going to focus on improving yourself, but if you're attacked by Akatsuki members, there is just no way to win without Kyuubi's help."

Naruto looked downcast but she continued.

"Akatsuki is comprised of S-rank missing-nin, and although you've improved a great deal since we met, there is just no way you're going to reach that level on your own in the short amount of time that we have to prepare."

"So… it's all for nothing?" Naruto whispered.

Yugito laughed. "Think, Naruto. All you've had to truly judge your strength against were Jiraiya-sama and I. And we are, let's face it, very strong." She put a fist on her hip, grinning. "Even though Temari's not a close-combat type, to be able to keep up with her puts you at around high Chuunin level, I think."

"Really?"

"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself, that rank is just an example." Yugito said immediately, recognizing the glint in Naruto's eyes. "It is just in terms of fighting ability, understand? Don't go thinking you're a hot-shot ninja now because you know how to punch people in the face. You're still years away from your goal since there is a lot more to a Shinobi's life than just fighting."

Naruto scowled. "I know that!"

"Good." Yugito patted her hand on the futon, inviting Naruto to sit with her. "Now I want you to know that the reason that we're training you up so hard is that while the Kyuubi could, in theory, supply you with a lot of power." She prodded him in the stomach as soon as he sat down. "That power is going to run around unchecked if you are not in control. And even if you are in control, you won't be able to do much with it if you don't know how to fight."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, I get it. But that doesn't mean I like it."

"No-one is saying you should." Yugito leaned into him for a moment. "Tonight, all we're going to do is have a talk with Kyuubi. We'll have to see how we go from there once we've done so."

Letting out a heavy exhale, Naruto nodded again.

"Alright, now…" She grasped his chin and tilted his head towards hers. "Just look into my eyes."

"Uhm…" Naruto was a little uncomfortable with her proximity.

"Relax." Yugito murmured. "Focus on your breathing and look into my eyes…" She repeated.

He did as she said and began counting his breaths, swallowing nervously.

Gold flecks started appearing in her ghostly pale-blue eyes, slowly but gradually crowding out the original colour. Naruto found himself slowly becoming mesmerized and idly noted that his and Yugito's breathing were now in synch. He fought his urge to blink when Yugito's pupil's turned into thin feline slits.

"Breathe in… Breathe out… Slow and steady…" Yugito's voice instructed him from somewhere.

Naruto swallowed, or he thought he did. His eyes began to water…

"Breathe…"

He blinked...

…and suddenly found himself in an all too familiar surrounding.

It was dark, damp and flooded with murky water that reached to just under his knees. As he looked around, he noted there were several tunnels led off to parts unknown from the vast and cavernous chamber he stood in. The water that soaked his lower legs would have been bad enough on its own, but there was a distinct stench of blood and…_evil_ permeating the air.

"What the hell?" Naruto cried out in surprise with his voice echoing around him. "How…?"

A chuckle diverted his attention and he spun on his feet. With a gasp, he drew back once he saw the person next to him. It was Yugito, only… not. Her voice was off and her eyes were still a practically radiating a golden glow.

"Yu-Yugito-sensei…" He started, reaching for her arm with his hand to check if she were really there.

The… not-Yugito grinned, flashing slightly longer fangs than normal for a human being and _purred_ at Naruto. "_Hello child."_

Naruto arrested his movements and stumbled back slightly. "W-who are you?"

"_You already know."_ She shot him a wink and chuckled again. "_I see what you meant by sewer, child. Though I did not truly expect something so… unbefitting one of your prisoner's stature."_

She turned her attention to the gigantic gate before her and Naruto, in turn, did so as well. The not-Yugito approached it calmly, but Naruto knew better even as he followed her with caution.

"Don't get too close!" He warned.

She looked back at him over her shoulder before a loud, booming voice resounded from behind the gate, followed by the sudden appearance of two massive eyes, dark-rimmed and flashing blood red, hovering high above them. The orbs focused on the two intruders and as if in displeasure, they narrowed. A row of teeth too sharp and large to be considered normal were displayed as the Kyuubi's lips were pulled back in a murderous grin.

"**Ah, the kitten and the brat. I had been wondering when the two of you would grace me with your presence."**

Naruto remembered that voice, too.

The boy watched the not-Yugito approach the demonic entity with a casual sway in her step. She stopped when she reached a respectful distance of the large ornate gate however, and studied the small scrap of paper that served as the lock for the strongest being that had ever prowled the Elemental Countries and beyond.

The woman peered at the seal for a moment longer until she smiled up at the nine-tailed demon fox. "_Hello, Kyuubi. It's been a while."_

**oOoOo**

Chapter end.

**oOoOo**

Technique list:

**Shunshin** - Body Flicker  
**Fuuton: Dai Kamaitachi** – Wind Element: Great Cutting Whirlwind  
**Fuuton: Tenkuu Dangan** – Wind Element: Air Bullet


	11. Chapter 11

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas

Note: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 11:**

**oOoOo**

"**You are bold to come here, Nekomata."** Kyuubi chuckled in a low pitch that reverberated through the cavernous chamber in Naruto's mindscape.

The cat demon shrugged and rested her fists on her hips. "_I have seen no other way."_

Kyuubi smirked, as if amused. "**And what, pray tell, are you here for?"**

Naruto gulped, more than a little intimidated by being in the presence of not one, but _two_ tailed beasts. On the occasions when he visited the fox, though never willingly, he had always been somewhat comforted by the knowledge that it couldn't do anything to him from inside its prison. But having another walking around…

"_Do not pretend to lack knowledge. You know perfectly well why we are here."_

"**You are worried about the useless rabble calling itself Akatsuki."** Kyuubi spat, humour gone and obviously unimpressed. "**They are nothing."**

"_They are going to come for the Hosts."_ Nekomata motioned towards Naruto. "_And they know the secret of our being here, do not doubt."_

"**So?"** The Fox sneered. "**This does not concern me."**

The Nibi shook her head. "_Have the years of imprisonment dulled your mind?"_ Kyuubi's burning red eyes narrowed, but she paid it no notice. "_The Akatsuki will not stop until all of us lie dead or imprisoned at their hands."_

"**You speak as though I care about the fate of those hairless monkeys."**

Naruto bristled at the insult and was about to shout something back when the Nibi continued on.

"_The child needs your power if you both are to survive. He cannot fight them as he is now, nor can he when your rage flows into him."_

A pulse began to thrum through Naruto's body, much like a slow and steady heartbeat, quickening and growing louder along with Kyuubi's increasingly heated responses.

Kyuubi growled. "**You disrespectful fools!"**

"_Why are you being so…"_ The Nibi began to ask, only to be interrupted as the nine-tails flew into a rage.

"**You come here, asking for my **_**help**_**?!"** Kyuubi roared, slamming its massive frame against the gate as though it could break the barrier down and crush the ones invading his domain. "**You miserable little maggots! You **_**dare**_** after I have been caged like a common animal?! You would have me become a docile **_**battery**_** to be used at his beck and call?!"**

Naruto cringed and stumbled backwards while the Nibi remained rooted to the spot, merely narrowing her eyes at the outburst.

"_Times have changed, Kyuubi-kun."_ She said quietly.

"**It matters not!"** Kyuubi rammed its massive head against the barrier a final time and trying to reach for its fellow demon with its claws. Gouges were left on the floor as it retreated, only to be repaired and leave wholesome stone as if nothing had happened. "**When I escape this wretched prison, I will slaughter those who have wronged me, including you!"** The fox-demon's eyes focused on Naruto. "**Pray I never do, worm, for your weak village will be the first to fall."**

Yugito's features contorted into a scowl, betraying the Nekomata's displeasure with the course this conversation had taken. "_Your own desires in the human world were no longer attainable the moment you were sealed by the Fourth Hokage. And if the host dies, so will you."_ She reasoned, though her tone was soft and dangerous. "_The only thing you can pray for is a long and prosperous life for the child so you may cling to your existence a little longer."_

The pulse reached a fever pitch, drowning out all other noise until, with a howl, the Kyuubi let a wave of virulent crimson chakra burst from between the long iron spokes of the gate. The demonic energy throbbed and bubbled higher and higher, eventually towering over the forms of Yugito and Naruto, and threatening to wash over them and sweep them away.

In an instant, the Nekomata's own chakra exploded from Yugito's body in the shape of two massive tails that dripped black and blue flames. One of them shot towards Naruto, wrapping around his frame to serve as a protective barrier in the blink of an eye while the other tail encircled the Nibi in her own shield of ethereal fire.

Almost in slow-motion, the wave of crimson, malevolent chakra crested above them, only to rush down on top of him and the Nibi with unstoppable force. The boy yelled something unintelligible when he saw the two demonic energies collide with each other and felt an intense heat suffusing his very skin while his ears were filled with impossibly loud hiss, as if a thousand red-hot swords were being plunged as one in a single, icy-cold lake.

The tide of Kyuubi's chakra never wavered, and Naruto could _feel_ rather than see the shield around him wavering before it burst completely against the endless flow. It was something he had experienced all too often, though it never been this intense. Naruto was immediately pushed away into the darkness, but he heard the Kyuubi's mocking laughter. It was aimed at the Nekomata who still stood fast and watched the boy helplessly as he disappeared from view.

"**You have grown so weak, kitten…"**

It was all Naruto heard before everything went black.

**oOoOo**

Naruto stiffened when he regained consciousness, his breath hitching and blinking rapidly as he tried to reacquaint himself with the comfortable air of his bedroom. He found himself slumped backwards on his futon, which had happened some time after entering his mindscape.

A groan came from his left and he turned his head to focus on the form of Nii Yugito who was grimacing visibly while she awoke as well. Instead of Naruto's somewhat calm return to the land of the living though, the Jounin shot to a sitting position and sucked in a shuddering breath through clenched teeth. She cradled her head and swore up a storm, which took Naruto by surprise since he had never known her to react so strongly to anything.

"Yu-Yugito-sensei?" He asked tentatively, reaching out to her with his hand.

She waved him off. "Just… _shit_… give me a minute." She winced and scrunched her eyes together tightly. "_Fuck_ this part always hurts like hell."

Naruto waited patiently, but it still took another full minute until she had regained full control of her functions again and the blinding pain that had permeated her skull subsided to manageable levels.

"What did you do?" Naruto was more than slightly unnerved by the recent happenings. "Why… Why was your…" He gulped and pointed at her stomach. "…in my head?"

Yugito let out a deep exhale and let herself fall back on the futon with her eyes closed. "It's called spirit walking." She grimaced. "One of the gifts the Nibi grants me as her vessel."

"But-!"

"Yeah, normally she doesn't go herself, but I guess she was just really eager to meet with your demon." Yugito covered her face with an arm and groaned. "I'm going to have a headache for hours."

Naruto tried to look sympathetic but failed as he let his indignation show. "You could have warned me!"

The Jounin's reply came in a resigned tone. "It actually works better when my target doesn't know what's coming." She half-heartedly and blindly slapped Naruto on his elbow with her free arm. "Now do me a favour and be quiet, I'd like to sleep this off. We can talk later."

"But this is _my_ room!" Naruto cried out.

"At the moment, I really don't care."

**oOoOo**

"So… you're saying you had two demons inside of you?" Temari asked, perplexed and more than a little disturbed.

"I think so…" Naruto scratched the back of his head and sighed. "It was weird, y'know?"

Temari snorted. "I'd certainly say so."

After exiting his bedroom, Naruto had bumped into Temari on the bottom floor while he was making his way outside. Noting the peculiar look on his face, the girl had tagged along and the two took a brief stroll through the streets of Sunagakure while he, somewhat reluctantly, filled her in on what had happened. They stopped near a small market that catered to late-night customers and Temari had ordered Naruto to take a seat on a low, brick wall outside while she had gone in to get a couple of cool drinks.

"And…" Naruto hesitated and sucked on the straw of his bottle of juice for a moment. "Just what was she thinking asking that stupid fur ball for help anyway?"

"Well, if it's inside of you, it might as well help you, right?" Temari shrugged. It seemed logical enough.

"It's not that simple." He scowled. "Kyuubi only helps when I'm about to die anyway. Stupid fox bastard."

Temari opened her mouth to speak then closed it and drank some of her juice. What _could_ you say in a situation like this anyway? Who was she to tell him anything about the dealings with arguably the strongest demon in existence?

Naruto finished his drink and set the empty bottle on the wall beside him. "I don't want to use its power…"

Despite already knowing how he felt about the matter, Temari decided to press him a little on it. "Yugito's reasoning is sound, though." She shifted slightly to face him. "Why wouldn't you want to?"

It took several long moments before Naruto replied. "I… I don't know if I could control it." He confessed, staring at the rising moon in the night sky. "And I don't like how it makes me feel."

Temari cocked her head sideways. "It's that bad?"

Closing his eyes, Naruto sighed. "Whenever I get angry… I mean…really angry…" He turned to look at the girl. "I can't control it, you know? Everything disappears except rage and I don't stop, not for anything or, well… any_one_."

Temari knew all too well what he was talking about. After all, she had been living with a psychotic murderer for a great deal of her life.

"To be honest, it scares me."

Surprised by the frank admission, Temari blinked rapidly. "Why?" She blurted, though after spending so much time with Naruto, she could guess the possible reasons.

"I…" Naruto wormed his lower lip between his teeth and fidgeted slightly. "I don't want to hurt the people I care about." He said earnestly.

Temari was silent as she contemplated his words. In the world they lived in, power was usually praised and coveted above all else, but Naruto was actually hesitant to use the strength that his status as jinchuuriki granted him. And just because he was scared of hurting those close to him?

Her features softened while she studied Naruto intently. 'He… He really is something else…'

"I think…" She finally began, scooting closer to the boy and reached for his hand before cradling it in her lap with both of her own. "…you're the most stubborn guy I've ever met." She chuckled and ran a thumb across the back of his hand lightly. "Except maybe Gaara, of course."

Naruto gulped, but made no movements to extract his limb from her gentle grip.

"I think you should try again though, with the Kyuubi. And uhm…" Temari whispered, blushing slightly but fixed Naruto with a resolute look. "With Gaara, I…" She averted her eyes and took a deep breath. "Maybe I'll be able to help you more than I could with him."

"T-Temari-chan…" Naruto stammered, lost for words.

Worried that she might just get a little too emotional, Temari hopped down from the wall and smiled. "Let's go home, Naruto-kun."

"O-okay…" The boy nodded dumbly and as they walked back through the streets of Sunagakure under a moonlit sky, he felt an odd warmth in his chest when he realized that Temari hadn't let go of his hand.

Naruto decided he didn't mind at all.

**oOoOo**

"I can't believe you didn't warn me." Yugito huffed.

She crossed her arms and stared into the inky darkness that surrounded her save for a wide illuminated circle. A throaty chuckle answered her from beyond its edge. This, if anything, only served to increase the Kumo-nin's annoyance.

"You can come out, you know. Those parlour tricks are hardly impressive."

"Hmmph. Spoilsport."

A paw dripping two-toned, ethereal fire stepped into the light, followed slowly by the entirety of the Nibi no Nekomata's massive form. She circled Yugito, staring at her vessel with terrible golden eyes as if sizing her up to be a potential meal.

Yugito sighed and reached towards the spectral feline like she'd done countless times before.

The Nibi stepped closer, her lips drawn back in a feral grin. With another chuckle, she ducked her head, allowing Yugito to wrap her arms around the demon's maw. Black and blue flames licked at the woman's skin, but didn't burn. They never had.

"I don't know why you're acting this happy. This is a real setback, you know." Yugito murmured, her head resting on the bridge of the Nekomata's nose.

"True." The Nibi agreed. "I did not expect Kyuubi to react as it did."

Yugito twitched as she drew back from the embrace. "This is really, really bad."

"Not so much as you would think, my little kitten." The Nibi assured her as she lowered herself to the ground.

"How does this not put us back at square one?"

"The child still has access to some of Kyuubi's power."

Yugito sat down with a scowl. "The power granted to Naruto is miniscule."

"Compared to you and I, perhaps." The Nibi stated, unperturbed by her host's complaints. "He will be able to draw on it regardless of Kyuubi's wishes, they are merging after all. Still, focus remains the key if he is going to succeed in doing so. The child must not allow himself to lose control again."

Leaning back against the large body of the two-tailed beast, Yugito yawned. "This is all becoming so complicated. Sometimes I wish that I hadn't met Jiraiya-sama at all."

"He saved your life."

Yugito closed her eyes and shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable but she didn't bother to reply to the demon's words.

"I know." The cat-demon continued on and playfully flicked a tail across Yugito's cheek. "We should arrange a test for Naruto-kun…"

Yugito swatted the appendage away and frowned, mulling over the possibility. "A test, huh?"

"Are you not curious?" A row of wicked sharp teeth gleamed as the Nibi smiled. "It will be interesting to see what he can truly do when he is not overly influenced by Kyuubi."

"I'll…" Yugito yawned again. "…see what I can do…"

"Good." The Nekomata purred and curled herself around Yugito, laying her two tails over the Jounin, blanketing the Kunoichi's smaller frame. "Sleep now, my little kitten… Tomorrow is a bright new day…"

**oOoOo**

The next day, Yugito and Naruto tried to speak once more to Kyuubi, only to find their attempts unsuccessful. They were met with a haze of crimson every time, blocking their entry into Naruto's mindscape. After the fifth time, and with Yugito nursing yet another blinding headache – though it was less severe without the Nibi's direct interference – they decided that it would be best to leave the Kyuubi alone for now and hope it would calm down. Eventually.

While this was somewhat anti-climactic, Naruto, for his part, was glad. One demon inside of him was bad enough and he had no desire to see a second one romping around in his mind. He didn't particularly trust the Nibi when Yugito claimed that the cat-demon promised she wouldn't do so again without asking. Besides, it wasn't like he didn't have anything to keep it occupied with in the first place.

The days slipped into ten long weeks. During that time, Yugito ran Naruto ragged, mainly with an unabated regimen of chakra-control exercises, meditation and taijutsu training, the latter of which Temari joined in. Though when Baki and Kankuro returned after two months, Naruto spent most of his time with the turbaned Jounin fine-tuning the ninjutsu he already knew.

Tag creation was still a bit difficult at times for Naruto, but at least he took to creating explosive variants with a relish. He kept a large stack of them handy at any given time, something which slightly disturbed Temari who had watched him use them in their more… realistic spars - some of which would, without a doubt, pass into Sunagakure legend.

Naruto was many things, and one of those was surely being a master at adaptation and improvisation. The large amount of newly added craters in their usual training spot could attest to that. Of course, explosive tags worked wonders on keeping particularly lippy clones in line as well.

Ninjutsu and seals aside, their physical strength, speed and stamina grew steadily. Naruto was never lacking in the stamina department, but Temari was pleased to note that she was able to last much longer in a fight than she would have had she kept training on her own. While her chakra reserves had never been something to sneeze at, it had been slightly disconcerting to compare it to someone who could create hundreds of shadow clones with little to no difficulty.

Still, when Temari and her brother, Kankuro, had engaged in a friendly match, she was pleased to note that she was able to trounce him quite solidly. It certainly helped that Temari had learned several new tricks from Naruto and knew Kankuro's techniques by heart.

The brown-haired teen had groused good-naturedly at his loss, but was happy to see his sister improving in such spectacular ways. Besides, he did manage to regain some of his pride in his fight with Naruto. The jinchuuriki had no experience at all with fighting someone who specialized in puppetry; something Kankuro had no qualms about exploiting. It was probably a good thing too that Naruto tried his best to not smash his puppets to bits, either. That earned him a couple more points in Kankuro's book, who still had nightmares about Gaara crushing his very first puppet to scrap with his infamous sand techniques.

Naruto still didn't meet with the redhead as often as he would have liked, but perhaps because of that, Naruto grew to treasure his get-togethers with Gaara even more. They provided precious insight in the psyche of the former insomniac. For one, he would occasionally make off the cuff remarks that threw Naruto for a loop. Like Gaara's casual comment on how he would tear Naruto limb from limb, literally, if he would ever hurt Temari intentionally. After the mandatory cringe and gulp, Naruto merely laughed, enveloping an arm around the Kazekage's shoulders and praised him for his dedication to his family.

Even with his busy schedule in Sunagakure though, Naruto grew a little restless. Maybe it was the constant training, or perhaps it was being cooped up in the village for a while now, but Naruto wanted to set out and do… _something_. It was good then, that the day the blonde was discussing this during his afternoon break with Temari, Yugito appeared next to them.

"Hey, lovebirds, you have a meeting with Kazekage-sama in an hour." She announced airily.

Naruto scowled at her jibe but had grown too accustomed to Yugito's sudden arrivals to even twitch.

"Really?" Temari asked after gulping down the last bite of her bean-paste treat. "Did Gaara say what he wanted with us?"

Yugito's grin was a tad too feral for Naruto's liking. "I think he mentioned something about a surprise for the two of you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He had grown rather wary of surprises. Before the two could inquire further though, Yugito was already long gone.

With a shrug, Temari made a grab for her battle-fan and stood up, wiping some crumbs off of her attire with her free hand. "Well, I'm going to take a quick shower." She pulled on her cut-off and slightly damp t-shirt slightly, making a face. "I think you should do the same."

Naruto made a non-committal noise but followed her back to the Kazekage residence.

Just twenty minutes later, Temari was considerably cleaner and dressed in a purple shift she favoured when not intent on doing any strenuous physical exercises for the day. She was just on her way to the kitchen to fetch a drink when, with a poof of smoke, Naruto appeared behind her.

"So what do you think the surprise is, Temari-chan?" Naruto asked, smiling mischievously, hair still damp from his own shower.

While Temari didn't flinch, she fought the urge to let out a long, suffering sigh. It had been hell since Naruto truly mastered the art of Shunshin. The boy had been so pleased with his grasp of the technique that he had started to use it whenever he had to take more than four steps to go anywhere. Much to Temari's dismay. However, after several incidents, which were better left unmentioned, Naruto finally got the idea that it wasn't a good idea to appear wherever he pleased without warning.

Temari shrugged as she entered the kitchen and made a beeline for the refrigerator. "I don't really know."

There was an unpleasant scraping noise when Naruto dragged back one of the chairs around the kitchen table and sat down. He thanked the girl when she handed him a bottle of fruit-flavoured water as she joined him at the table.

"I just hope it's something good this time around." Naruto unscrewed the cap and gulped down a full third of the bottle's contents.

Temari smiled and took a few sips herself. "I hardly think Yugito-san would be kidding around if it was anything bad, Naruto-kun."

"Well, you never know." Naruto propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on the heel of his palm, drumming his fingers on his whiskered cheek.

The two made a little more small talk until Temari announced that they should get underway. In response, Naruto got up and grinned, making a single hand-seal before another small puff of smoke was left in his wake while he disappeared from view.

This time, Temari _did_ let a sigh escape her lips.

**oOoOo**

After an uneventful walk to the Kazekage tower, the blonde teenagers found Yugito already waiting for them in the small waiting room outside Gaara's office.

The Jounin waved and motioned for them to sit on the bench opposite of hers. "You're a little early. Kazekage-sama is still in a meeting with someone, but it shouldn't take much longer."

Naruto nodded and leaned backwards against the wall, lacing his fingers behind his neck. Temari sat down next to him and crossed her legs primly, folding her hands across her knee.

"Do you know who Gaara's meeting with?" Naruto asked. If Temari was curious as well, she gave no visible indication.

"…You'll find out soon enough." Yugito hinted

Letting out a deep exhale through his nose, Naruto closed his eyes, too used to Yugito being somewhat secretive.

The three lapsed into silence while they waited, though as Yugito had said, it didn't take very long until the door leading into the office opened. Their heads swivelled as one and focused on the figure stepping out.

If anything, the man was rather plain. Being of average height, somewhat overweight and with receding, gray hair that was pulled into a simple and short ponytail, it was not someone that would garner much attention if you passed him down the street. Yet there was something about him that caught Naruto's attention, and it wasn't the broad striped tattoo that ran from cheek to cheek across the bridge of his nose either.

Only a trained eye would note the subtle stiffening of the older man's bulky frame when he noted Naruto's presence. Too bad there were three pairs of them in the waiting room.

"Yugito-san." He said simply, inclining his head towards the Kumo-nin - a gesture which she returned - and ambled out of the room without further words.

Yugito brought her gloved hands together with a sharp crack, startling Temari and Naruto after they had observed the stranger's departure. "Well, let's go see what Kazekage-sama wants with the two of you, hmm?"

Temari raised an inquiring eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Naruto on the other hand was frowning slightly when the three of them entered the office. He didn't know what it was, but there was something off about that tattooed person. It was either that, or he had been eating something that was well past its expiration date this morning. Naruto shook his head and put it out of his mind for now, he was deathly curious about what Gaara might want with Temari and him.

"Oi, oi, Gaara!" He called out to the other jinchuuriki seated behind a rather large desk when they all trooped inside and gave a jaunty wave. "What did you call us here for? We were kinda busy with training, you know."

Unsurprisingly, that earned the blonde a slap upside the head from Yugito. "Show some respect, Naruto!" She hissed, then bowed towards Gaara. "I'm sorry about my student's impudence, Kazekage-sama."

Temari cracked a smile. Gaara on the other hand, stared blandly at his new visitors.

"I am sorry for interrupting your schedule." The redhead apologized..

"That's okay, Gaara." Temari clasped her hands behind her back and blinked. "Do you need us for anything?"

"…yes." Gaara said slowly after witnessing Naruto sticking out his tongue at his teacher while he rubbed his scalp. "I am going to send you and Naruto on vacation."

Silence reigned for several long moments while Yugito grinned at the younger blondes.

"Uhhh… what?" Naruto finally asked, hopelessly confused.

Gaara blinked and shifted his gaze between the two periodically. "I am going to send you and Temari on vacation."

"Er…" Temari cut in before Naruto could inquire further. She glanced briefly at Yugito who still had a rather big grin threatening to splut her face in two. "Not that I'm really complaining, but… why?"

Instead of immediately responding, Gaara leaned back and reached for a drawer in his desk. He extracted a manila envelope and handed it to his sister. "The Leaf has requested that a guard detail be sent to meet a Genin team escorting a new diplomat to the hidden Sand."

Naruto looked nonplussed while Temari frowned. "Gaara, we aren't…" She began while she undid the string tying the envelope closed and took out its contents.

"Officially I can not send you out on missions." Gaara elaborated.

Yugito picked up when he finished the sentence. "You two need to take a little time off from training and build some mission experience if you're truly going to grow as ninjas." She smirked at Naruto. "Well, Naruto needs to in any case."

"Hey!" Naruto objected in a picture perfect example of indignation. "I did a bunch of important missions!"

"No, actually." Yugito shot back easily, cocking a fist on her hip. "You didn't." She continued when Naruto was about to say something else. Something he might have regretted. "I have studied your mission history, Naruto. In truth you're severely lacking in experience. I really wonder if that Copycat Kakashi was just lazy or a fool, because you are far below the average Genin when it comes to mission accomplishments."

Naruto wilted as Yugito succinctly chewed him out. "But…" He offered lamely, already knowing he had been defeated.

"Save it, focus instead on what you have to improve on in the future."

"Yes, Yugito-sensei…" Naruto murmured.

Temari cleared her throat, empathising with her betrothed's plight, yet intent on finding out the details of their upcoming mission. She briefly scanned what was written on the sheaves of paper in her hands. "You want us to wait in Hananoki, Gaara?"

Gaara snapped his jade eyes from a dejected Naruto to his sibling and nodded. "Yes."

"They are to arrive in four days then?"

"Yes." He repeated.

Temari handed the papers to Naruto who grabbed them and began to read silently. "River country is around a day's travel away, so that should leave us with around two days of free time if we leave tomorrow, Naruto-kun." She piped up, trying to cheer the boy up some.

He gave Temari a smile, appreciating her effort.

"I'd say the two of you should make the most of it." Yugito interjected, folding her arms over her chest and looking wistful. "I've heard there are some great sights in Hananoki."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, looking up from the mission details. "Aren't you coming, Yugito-sensei?"

"Nah." Yugito waved his question off. "I still have some things to take care of here, and this mission shouldn't be too difficult for you two to handle."

"Alright." Temari inclined her head in her brother's direction. "If that's all, then Naruto-kun and I had better gather up some supplies." She laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"Yeah." Naruto affirmed and mock-saluted Gaara who smiled faintly at the gesture. He then turned to follow Temari out of the office.

"Oh Naruto…" Yugito called out. "Enjoy your vacation and… make me proud, okay?" She added warmly when the boy halted in mid-stride.

"Yes, Yugito-sensei!" He barked.

Yugito waited several seconds after the two left before speaking again. "Well, I guess I'd prepare a little, too."

"Like you said, there should be little trouble." Gaara said, his chair creaking slightly as he got to his feet to stare out of one of the windows.

"It should be a fairly simple escort." Yugito acquiesced. "But I would be remiss if I didn't keep an eye out on those two."

"Yes." Gaara stated simply.

"I'll take my leave as well then." Yugito bowed.

The Kazekage barely acknowledged her departure. Instead, he rubbed his chest, trying to discern why he felt faint twinges of worry creeping through him.

**oOoOo**

Chapter end.


	12. Chapter 12

**Warning Signs**

Written by: Hayling

Beta: Kelenas, Cornuthaum

Note: Thank you for the reviews, hope you'll enjoy this quiet before the storm when things become truly bloody.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.

**Chapter 12:**

**oOoOo**

"Alright, let's give our packs one final check, Naruto-kun." Temari commanded as the two approached the east gate of Sunagakure. It wasn't as impressive as the main gate in the northern quadrant, but the sun-baked and chakra enhanced stone doorway was certainly capable to stand up to most types of assault.

Naruto nodded with a grunt and slipped the straps of his heavy backpack off of his shoulders and put it on the ground. They both knew that they had everything they needed and more, but it was best to make sure one final time rather than find out that they might have missed something while out of the village.

While he went through the routine of checking his supplies, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little guilty that he was going out on a mission of all things. Sure, he relished in the fact that he finally managed to break the somewhat monotonous training regime that consumed his time day in, day out, but… Was this going to be as effective as pure training in making him as strong as he needed to be?

Naruto shook his head to rid himself of that line of thought. If Yugito thought he needed the experience, then that should be good enough for him. He focused on Temari and smiled. "I've got everything, Temari-chan." He announced.

Temari looked positively pleased. "Same here."

She stood up to her full height again, brushing off the pitch-black yukata she wore and adjusted the red sash bound around her midsection before lifting her gloved hands to make sure the Suna hitai-ate was still tied securely around her forehead. Active Kunoichi or not, it'd be a cold day in hell before anyone would take that symbol away from her.

Naruto unconsciously fiddled with the forehead protector slung loosely from his neck. He wore the midnight-blue outfit Temari had picked out for him on their shopping trip a while ago, much to the girl's pleasure. Naruto still thought the severe lack of orange was… disturbing, but he respected Temari's opinion enough to put up with it for now. Besides, he didn't so intensely have the desire to wear something that drew attention of potential enemies to himself when he was around his betrothed, not when they were with just the two of them anyway. He wouldn't willingly put someone in danger just because he liked a certain colour.

"We'd better announce our departure." Temari muttered as she grabbed her pack off of the ground and hefted it on her back once more.

Naruto mirrored her actions and they started off towards the gate soon after. The trio of guards on duty had spotted the blondes a long time ago, and they knew their reason for being here, but protocol had to be upheld.

One of the three, a petite female, stepped in Temari's and Naruto's path and held up a hand to stop them. "Please state your names and reason for leaving the village."

Temari inclined her head towards Naruto, making her quadruple pigtails bounce slightly. "Uzumaki Naruto and Temari, we're going on a short… vacation."

The guard Kunoichi suppressed a chuckle and brushed a stray strand of her shoulder-length, black hair out of her eyes. "Of course, Temari-san." She motioned for the two other guards to open the gate and bowed slightly in Temari's direction. "Kazekage-sama sent advance notice to expect you and your… companion this morning."

Naruto didn't particularly like being referred to in that kind of tone but managed to stay quiet.

Once the large stone gate was pushed open, the female guard shot a wink at the boy, taking him by surprise, then bowed once more to Temari. "Safe travels, Temari-san, Naruto-san. Enjoy your vacation."

Temari returned the gesture and turned to Naruto. "Let's head out, Naruto-kun."

**oOoOo**

Desert travel brought its own set of challenges, Naruto mused. It was one thing to run around in a village in the middle of it, and quite another to actually cross the scorching hot expanse on foot.

"How are you holding up, Naruto-kun?" Temari called over shoulder. She was currently a few meters in front of him, her arms limp at her side as she ran forwards with astounding speed.

"I'm fine, Temari-chan!" Naruto yelled back, flashing a grin.

Temari smiled at his reassurance. At first Naruto had some trouble negotiating himself on the loose soil, but after she noted his struggling, she had advised him to treat the desert as a literal, gigantic sea of sand. Naruto promptly exuded a small but continuous flow of chakra from the soles of his feet, making the trip significantly less arduous. And if he were honest with himself, the "sand-walking" served as quite an intensive workout. At least it did when it was coupled with releasing minute amounts of chakra at intermittent intervals from his tenketsu. The bursts of wind really helped to cool him off.

"We should clear western expanse by nightfall if we keep up this pace."

"Right!" Naruto acknowledged.

True to Temari's words, the duo continued on for several more hours with the sun steadily dipping down towards the horizon in front of them. The sky was ablaze with vibrant shades by the time they encountered the first trees that signalled the border between the River and Wind countries.

After being constantly exposed to the predominant yellows and greys in Sunagakure and the desert, Naruto's first steps in a true forest since a very long time comforted him nearly as much as a steaming bowl of ramen.

"Shall we set up our camp for the night, Naruto-kun?" Temari inquired when they stumbled through the edge of the forest, comprised mainly of a multitude of scraggly trees, and came upon a small clearing.

Naruto let out a breath of relief, plunking his burden from his back on the forest loam beside him and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Yeah, that sounds good, Temari-chan!" He answered.

"Alright, if you could gather the firewood, I'll start preparing something for us to eat and drink."

When Naruto nodded and wandered off to collect enough wood for them to last through the night, Temari reached for her pack and began rummaging inside for two brown coloured scrolls, both easily as long as her outstretched hand and thick as her fist.

She unrolled them partially, revealing a long line of symbols and kanji that would make no sense to one unversed in the art of sealing. Placing the tips of her index fingers on a small circle at the bottom of each scroll, Temari infused the paper with a minute amount of chakra. Immediately, the symbols began to light up and she couldn't help but smirk.

A second passed and the first collection of glowing text evaporated from the paper in a puff of smoke, revealing two canteens and a small sack of fresh fruits and dried meats. Who needed trail food when you could seal a veritable banquet inside a scroll if you wished it?

While he might be a pervert, Temari made it a point to thank Jiraiya the first opportunity she'd get. The average ninja might be able to properly use storage seals, but few were actually able to create them. Fuuinjutsu was considered by many to be a waste of time, a skill that took far too long to develop or just too hard an art to grasp. Loathe she was to admit it, Temari had been one of them, never having thought beyond the next new ninjutsu or refining and improving the ones she already knew. Still, there was no denying the usefulness of certain seals.

Temari set the food and drink aside and returned the scrolls to her backpack. That done, she began digging a small pit for the fire and laid out their sleeping bags on the ground. No sooner had she completed that task when Naruto returned to the campsite, arms laden with fallen branches both thick and thin.

"Welcome back, Naruto-kun." Temari greeted him with a smile.

The boy grinned in turn and dumped the collection of firewood near the freshly dug indentation in the forest floor. "Thanks." He replied.

Fifteen minutes later, after taking a little time to wash themselves after running through the desert for most of the day, and with daylight all but gone, the two sat side by side on top of Naruto's sleeping bag. They sipped from their canteens and occasionally took a bite from strips of jerky or fruit. Temari was staring into the bright campfire, even though she normally would never have in fear of ruining her night vision. She glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eyes and found him looking oddly pensive, not to mention that he was eating slowly. Temari had had ample opportunity to get a grasp of Naruto's little quirks and when he wasn't consuming his food with gusto, it was a sure sign there was something on his mind.

"So, are you excited?" She asked, breaking the silence and nudged him with her elbow.

"Hmm?" Naruto halted the process of lifting his canteen to his lips.

Laughter bubbled from between Temari's lips. "I said: Are you excited?"

"About what?"

The girl looked at him in mock indignation. "About the mission, dummy."

Naruto scratched the back of head in embarrassment. "Oh! Uh, yeah, sure!"

"You don't _sound_ too excited." Temari pressed, smirking as she spoke the words he'd used when he wanted to know what was bothering _her_ on the day when he found out about their betrothal.

He must have picked up on it too since Naruto chuckled earnestly. "I'm just a little worried, that's all."

Temari put the tin plate she'd been using to eat her portion of the food on the ground and gave Naruto her undivided attention. "What are you worried about?"

"Ero-sennin." Naruto said with some aplomb.

She nodded thoughtfully. "He's one of the legendary three, he'll be able to take care of himself."

"I know. It's just that…" Naruto sighed and shrugged. "I don't know."

"You really care about him, don't you?" When he agreed with a grunt, Temari continued. "I think you'll have to trust in his abilities, he'll be back before too long, right?"

"Yeah…" Naruto said with only the barest hint of hesitancy.

A companionable silence fell over the two as Naruto ate the remainder of his meal. Temari, meanwhile, busied herself by subtly watching the emotions play over Naruto's features. There was no doubt in her mind that she couldn't make him stop worrying about his mentor, but at least she could alleviate some of the severity of it.

When he finished eating, she absently noted the now fully darkened sky. "Well we'd better get some sleep. I'd like to get underway to Hananoki early in the morning." Temari reasoned, to which Naruto nodded in agreement.

While he brushed off his plate and walked over to his backpack, Temari threw a couple more large branches in the flames. It would hopefully keep them warm until they fell asleep. The two also set some minor early warning traps in a circular perimeter around the camp. They weren't expecting any trouble but this way they felt secure enough that they could sleep at the same time without forcing someone to stand watch.

After they finished, Temari surprised Naruto by leaning over and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight, Naruto-kun." She murmured and walked over to her own sleeping bag to settle in for the night.

"G-goodnight, Temari-chan."

Temari supposed she was going a little soft and would have never envisioned herself to get so _mushy_, but a growing part of her told her that she liked it… very much. Forced marriage or not, it was difficult not to like Uzumaki Naruto. Not to mention he was going to have to make up for the total lack of boyfriends in her life - eventually anyway.

A perpetual smile tugged at the corners of Temari's mouth while thoughts on the subject kept her entertained all the way to her dreams.

**oOoOo**

The sun had barely started to rise above the horizon when Naruto awoke and found Temari returning life to the campfire that had died out some time during the night. He propped himself up on an arm and scratched himself sleepily with his free hand, yawning fiercely.

After a quick exchange of morning greetings, Naruto hurried to the small pool of water he carved out the evening before. When he'd gone through the standard ritual of cleanliness he went back to the camp and saw that Temari had taken the liberty to roll up his sleeping bag and affix it on top of his backpack again.

"Thanks, Temari-chan!" He said with a grin.

"No problem, I'd like to get underway as soon as we can." She handed him two large rice balls, a single cooked fish and his canteen which she'd refilled while he was gone.

Naruto thanked her again, and wolfed down the simple breakfast without complaint. He'd grown out of the habit of demanding ramen at every opportunity, though not without some assistance from Jiraiya, Yugito and Temari. The Sand-nin might not have held any dislike for the noodle dish, but it was still a far cry from the obsession her fiancée had with it.

When she too had eaten her early meal, Naruto doused the fire and buried the ashes as to not leave anything that might accidentally set the surrounding forest on fire. After checking a map to see in what direction they should travel next, they secured their backpacks and sped off towards Hananoki.

As Naruto and Temari took to the trees and started leaping from branch to branch once they cleared the outer edge of the forest, Naruto couldn't help but marvel at his surroundings. While Sunagakure certainly held its own splendour and the friends he had there made him feel very welcome indeed, there was no denying that Naruto was a creature of sylvan nature. Anything else just seemed… alien. While Kawa no Kuni certainly was no Fire country, he still felt more at home here than he ever did in the desert.

During his travels with Jiraiya, the older man had spent a great deal of time giving Naruto lectures on varying subjects, some of which detailed the current state and history of the Elemental Countries. Though most of the information that was fed into one ear went flying out of the other immediately, some of it still stuck in his brain.

From what he could remember, the River country was predominantly covered by one large forest; though large parts of it had been cut down to create space for farmland along the riverbanks. The long and wide river from which the country derived its name cut a winding, glittering path through the country, leading off to the sea to the south. To the north were the Shippou Mountains, from which the river sprung from. It was a gargantuan chain that divided Kawa and the hidden Rain, serving as a natural border for the two nations.

Mining operations there had an upswing in productivity several years ago due to Rain's increasing isolationistic behaviour towards other countries. This led to a complete lack of quarrels with the militaristic state, which now seemed wholly content with keeping its borders closed to all other nations and no longer made the occasional raids for precious ore and gems.

The daimyo of River used the newfound prosperity to expand from being just an exporter of metals and trinkets into something more. Something which hadn't been feasible during the recession that had plagued the country for decades. Large parts of the forest were cut down, the timber that wasn't used was sold to the Wind country and the resulting free land converted for farming. This resulted in increased relations with a major power which could provide military support which River lacked and an economic boom unseen since the founding of Konoha.

With the rise of wealth came a surge in population. Most of River's citizens had been living in the north, mining the rich veins of the Shippou Mountains. Now, more and more families trekked south to harvest lumber and crops. Along with an influx of immigrants from Wave and other countries with similarly declining economies, the rising population called for the creation of new villages to house them all.

Hananoki was one of such villages that took root in the south-west region of River. Though even with the startling progression that made its way throughout the whole country, it maintained a rustic appearance. It was small, out of the way and somewhat unobtrusive, all in all a perfect meeting place for two parties from Fire and Wind.

As Naruto and Temari approached the village they saw a number of circular houses and other buildings dotting the area around a larger structure, most likely belonging to the mayor or other type of local leadership. When they jumped down from the thick branches on the single dirt road that led into Hananoki, the two could make out a bustle of activity from within. Approaching the village like this, in plain sight, was a conscious decision on their part. Temari and Naruto didn't want to unnecessarily antagonize the detachment from Wind's fourth army who served as the local police force, or so it was stated in the mission details.

With Temari leading the way up the road, they kept their posture relaxed with their forehead protectors in plain sight. As expected, some twenty meters before they would enter the village proper, one of the soldiers they had sensed long before, stepped out from the trees and directly into their path. Five more appeared shortly after with two of them moving to join the first and the three others boxing in the Shinobi duo from behind.

"Greetings." The first said with a bow in blondes' direction. By the look of the dulled metal plates adorning his leather armour he was some sort of officer. He was also the only one not wearing a veiled turban, revealing a smiling but wary face. "May I enquire what your purpose is here?"

Naruto surreptitiously studied the other soldiers. They all stood at ease, a long naginata each at their sides, yet he knew that they'd be able to draw their weapons on him in a flash if he were to show any sign of hostility. On their left shoulder they wore a single steel epaulet with an etched Wind symbol displaying their allegiance. Naruto thought the turbans would have given it away already since he had yet to encounter anyone wearing that particular style of headgear in any other country.

Temari gave the officer an acknowledging nod. "My fiancée and I are here to enjoy a short break before heading back with the new ambassador from the hidden Leaf. He should be arriving in two days."

His frame went rigid immediately at her words and he bowed once more, the rest of the group mimicking the gesture of respect. "Please forgive our behaviour, my lady. The Kazekage sent a messenger hawk announcing your arrival, but we didn't expect you would be here so soon." He gestured to the trees around them. "There have been some reports of missing-nin in the area so we did not want to take any chances."

"There is nothing to forgive, I'm glad to see you are so diligent with your duties."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Temari's behaviour. Perhaps it was his imagination but it made her seem almost…_regal_.

"Thank you, my lady. Please, allow us to escort you to the inn so you may enjoy the comforts Hananoki has to offer."

"That is most generous of you." Temari inclined her head. "Lead the way."

With another bow, the four of the six soldiers fell in line and marched them into the village, two staying behind to keep watch. Naruto fought hard not to laugh. The last time something like this happened was when Jiraiya and Naruto were _kindly_ asked to leave a town in the Fire country after the old lecher had been caught peeping on the mayor's daughter.

The odd bunch garnered plenty of looks from the villagers – mostly children since a lot of the adults were at work on the farm fields Temari and Naruto had spotted nearby. The officer made some small talk, describing the recent history to which Temari listened politely. Even so, thanks to the soldiers, the group made good time arriving at the inn on the southern edge of Hananoki.

The inn wasn't anything particularly special, much like the village itself, but Naruto couldn't deny it had a comfortable air. It was a simple one-storey establishment, with a carefully preened garden and recently painted exterior. After allowing the two visitors a little more time to inspect the building, the officer, who had introduced himself as Hitoshi, led them inside.

"If you need anything at all, I am at your disposal." He told Temari.

Naruto was getting more than a little agitated with the way the man kept drooling all over her. He hadn't stopped talking to Temari ever since they approached the village.

"I will inform the commander of your arrival and make sure you are not disturbed during your stay." Bowing one last time, Hitoshi gave a meaningful nod at the innkeeper who had been watching the exchange and stepped out of the inn.

As soon as he left, the innkeeper – a rather short and rotund man, hurried them down the hallway and to their rooms then vanished from sight with promises of a sumptuous meal that would be brought to them in the evening.

No sooner did the rice paper door slide shut when Naruto snorted, staring at it incredulously. "Man, you'd think you were royalty or something the way that guy treated you."

Temari grinned and flicked one of her ponytails. "Well I _am_ the sister of the Kazekage, after all." She noted Naruto's frown and laughed. "Are you jealous?"

"What?" Naruto started and set his backpack near the door, averting his eyes from Temari's own. He wasn't really sure what was wrong, but he knew he didn't like that Hitoshi guy. "No! What would I be jealous about?"

"You tell me." She stuck out her tongue and sat down by the low, square table in the centre of the room. It had been lacquered and polished to a black sheen. Temari could even see her reflection in it.

Naruto joined her with a sigh while taking in the somewhat garish furniture surrounding them. It all looked way too expensive compared to how the inn looked on the outside, not to mention a little bit tacky; the miniature tanuki statue sitting on the cabinet at the far end of the room especially so.

"So uhm, what do you want to do?" He asked.

Temari tilted her head sideways as she mulled over the question. "Well, we made good time and it's a little late in the afternoon. That leaves us with a bit more than a day to do whatever we want, right?"

"Yeah, so what do you want to do?" Naruto repeated.

In all honesty, it had been quite a while since he'd had so much free time on his hands. Before leaving with Temari from Sunagakure, Yugito had taken him aside and expressly forbidden him to do any kind of training. That, pretty much, was what Naruto usually did in his free time. Whenever he took a break with Temari in the hidden Sand, it was usually spent doing whatever she wanted to do, which was fine with him since he didn't have a clue anyway. Besides, Naruto rather liked it whenever she dragged him to go shopping for all kinds of things, though she hardly bought anything at all. The visits to the tea-shop she'd frequently take him to were nice too, even though he'd never share Temari's passion for tea. It was her version of ramen, he guessed.

Now that Naruto thought about it, he figured it was pretty sad he didn't have a hobby. Well, aside from training and taking care of his plants back home. He still hadn't asked Gaara about getting some. Naruto could of course take a few from the redhead's garden but that probably wouldn't be appreciated.

'There are some really interesting ones though…' Naruto mused.

He blinked when Temari snapped her fingers several times in front of his face. "Hey, are you alright? You spaced out for a moment there."

"Huh?" Naruto forced himself to focus, wondering just why plants always got his mind off-track. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about some stuff."

Temari shook her head with amusement. "Anyway, I thought we could each take a bath to clean ourselves then wait in my room for dinner. After that we can hang out a bit more here and tomorrow we could just explore the village for a while, I'm sure there's plenty to see."

"Alright, that sounds good, Temari-chan." The boy acquiesced.

**oOoOo**

There were no hot springs in Hananoki, but that didn't mean the baths in the inn weren't up to snuff. The one Temari had confiscated for her personal use even more so. Seeing as this was her mini-vacation, she spared no efforts in making this the most relaxing event she could, including time spent bathing.

Afterwards, Temari returned to her room, dressed in a simple sunflower patterned bathrobe and with the scent of lavish oils and fragrant shampoos gently wafting from her frame. It came as no surprise to her that Naruto was already sprawled on the tatami mats, dressed in a similar robe and reading one of the technique scrolls he'd brought with him. It wasn't training, according to Naruto, not really. It was just interesting.

He looked up when the door slid open and the girl stepped inside. While he'd only taken twenty minutes, and had been waiting at least forty more, Naruto knew not to complain about the time a woman might spend bathing, he'd made the mistake once when Temari took too long for his liking. But only once. She could be scarily effective at making the do's and don'ts around her crystal clear, even more so than one Haruno Sakura and her patented physical reminders.

"Did you enjoy your bath, Temari-chan?" Naruto asked pleasantly.

"I did, thank you, Naruto-kun." She answered, rubbing a terry-cloth towel into her hair that was still undone from her pigtails and hung loosely down her neck. "And you?"

Naruto's own golden mane was still somewhat damp from his own watery foray and he sent Temari a toothy smile before she rummaged around in her pack she'd set in a corner of her room. "Yeah, it was nice."

"That's good." She draped the towel over her shoulder and with an "Aha" drew out a brush she'd brought with her for this trip. Seating herself on one of the cushions near the low table, she carefully dragged the teeth of the styling implement through her hair in order to work out any tangles. Naruto returned to his scroll, mindful that he should let her go through these rituals without any interruptions on his part. Another lesson learnt.

Some might say he was being too demure around the fairer sex, but that would be too simple an explanation. Naruto just appreciated and respected the female gender in ways that most of his peers simply didn't. While Jiraiya undoubtedly appreciated women, and treated them with utmost respect and would never, _ever_ allow himself to harm a woman in any way with his perversions or otherwise, he was still a lecher.

That wasn't to say that Naruto didn't have the hormones that any boy his age had to contend with at one point or another. This sometimes even caused him to experience some interesting dreams that involved Sakura and - more often than not, lounging _in_ - a giant bowl of ramen. Though they recently started including Temari who replaced and sometimes joined Sakura, Naruto didn't let this interfere with his behaviour during the day.

Besides, if Jiraiya or Kakashi ever got word of his dreams he'd never hear the end of it. Naruto didn't want to hear to an endless rendition of "I told you so's" from the perverts, or worse, words of encouragement. It was quite confusing enough as it was already.

Temari hummed a whimsical melody to herself as she finished brushing her hair. She briefly contemplated asking Naruto on his opinion on whether or not she should grow out her hair a little to turn her lower set of pigtails into a pair of longer braids. She'd grown somewhat jealous of Yugito's lengthy ponytail and wondered if longer hair would look as good on her as her usual style did.

Before she could open her mouth though, her attention and Naruto's were drawn to a light series of knocks resounding from the doorway.

"Yes?" Temari called out, setting her brush on the table and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles from her bathrobe.

The shoji slid open slightly, revealing a mousy servant girl with short-cropped black hair and dressed in a simple kimono. Already seated on the floor outside, she bowed deeply. "Miss, I am to ask when you might want to enjoy your dinner."

Temari blinked and turned to Naruto who stared at her and shrugged. "I could go for some food." He said.

Nodding, she focused her emerald eyes on the servant girl who had her own pair riveted on her hands folded in her lap. "At your earliest convenience, if you don't mind." Temari announced.

The servant girl bowed once more. "Yes miss, I'll inform the cooks and bring out your meal as soon as it is ready." Without further ado the door slid shut again, hiding her from view as hurried off to do just that.

As promised, their dinner didn't take long to arrive even though Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when he noticed that the servant girl was followed by four others, each carrying several plates of food. Swiftly, but carefully, they set their burden on the small table Naruto and Temari had been playing cards on just a few minutes previous and left with wishes of a good meal.

Naruto had to wipe away a tendril a drool that crept traitorously from the corner of his mouth as he surveyed the array of food. A multitude of steamed and stir fried vegetables and rice, grilled pieces of pork and beef drizzled with sweet soy-based sauces and expertly prepared fish wherever he turned. It was hard not to burst into tears at the beauty of it all.

"Well…" Temari grabbed her chopsticks from her empty plate and slid them from their paper holster. "Let's dig in!"

Naruto needed no further encouragement, his eagerness to feast and fill his growling stomach easily rivalling that of any Akimichi.

Though the food disappeared quickly, Temari thought the cook who'd handled the mackerel had been a bit too zealous with the application of spices. At least the rest of it all was prepared perfectly, much to her satisfaction. Naruto meanwhile inhaled everything without complaint, emitting sounds of pleasure now and again.

Even with his speed, it took quite a while for them to make all the food disappear. Had she been with any other person, Temari was sure that a lot of it would be left uneaten. But then, Naruto's stomach, which she was quite certain had to resemble a dimensional void of some sort, barely fazed her anymore. Their frequent visits to Takano's ramen stand had seen to that.

The now empty dishes were once again collected by the girls who'd brought them in the first place. With muttered thanks and compliments to the ones who'd prepared the meal, Naruto and Temari slumped visibly, bellies slightly bloated and fully sated. They already felt the accompanying sleepiness mudding their brains but they weren't quite ready to turn in for the night yet.

They spent two more hours enjoying each other's presence, playing several games Naruto had seen fit to bring with him; A Go board amongst others. In hindsight, perhaps he shouldn't have. Naruto hadn't met with such a crushing defeat since Shikamaru conned him into playing a game of Shogi for the first time.

Eventually though, and with plenty of yawns, Naruto and Temari bade one another goodnight and the boy dragged himself and his backpack to his own room. Temari was right; there was still plenty to see tomorrow.

**oOoOo**

The next morning found Naruto and Temari ambling down the wide streets of Hananoki. After enjoying a light breakfast, their only goal for the day was to explore the village at a leisurely pace and perhaps pick up a few souvenirs for Gaara and the others back in Sunagakure.

Naruto was having the time of his life. He enjoyed the atmosphere of a village in the middle of a forest immensely and the fact that the populace of Hananoki treated them with a great measure of respect and kindness. The fact that he'd performed some simple and flashy chakra tricks for the amusement of the resident children after dismissing the soldiers who had tried to break up the onlookers certainly helped.

Temari didn't mind. While she wasn't overly fond of those at a young age, she couldn't help but laugh softly whenever Naruto was backed into a corner to do more of his theatrics. When the latest group, comprised of several six year olds left after Naruto had run up and down a nearby tree without using his hands, they stopped by the local grocery. The owner, a kind-faced man with a large, bristly moustache, helped Temari pick out some of the better local tea-blends. She stocked up in bulk, sealing it into a small scroll for this exact purpose. Naruto looked a little exasperated but they were soon underway again to check out the other shops.

Over the span of the afternoon, they perused various wares and bought an assortment of gifts including a miniature kabuki doll for Kankuro, a hand-woven, light-brown sash of fine cotton for Gaara and a set of supple, leather gloves for Yugito. Naruto had noticed that her current pair were getting somewhat frayed and picked out a new pair of similar, fingerless ones. He just hoped she'd like them, it was the least he could do to thank her for all her help in not just training him but including Temari now and again.

For Baki, he bought a small box of konpeito. Temari said the brightly coloured sugar candy was somewhat of a guilty pleasure for her erstwhile teacher. Again, Naruto got it as a simple token of gratitude for the man's aid. The girl had to stop Naruto from buying something he wasn't technically of a proper age to for yet as a gift to Jiraiya. Instead, she dragged him to the local weapon smith. Rather something sharp and deadly than anything overly perverted.

After waiting outside for nearly fifteen minutes, Temari was shown the alternative item Naruto had purchased, which was a large, three-pronged kunai. She thought it looked somewhat unwieldy, and Naruto agreed with her, but perhaps the older man would like it. The boy said it was as weird as Jiraiya and therefore should fit the infamous ero-sennin perfectly. In any case, it was an improvement compared to the drawn nude print he'd first considered buying.

She inquired to the other thing he'd apparently bought; a thick object easily the size of her forearm and wrapped in a bundle of white cloth. Naruto waved her off with a stammer and said it was nothing. Temari didn't question him further since he was obviously not inclined to tell her, but she had to admit she was still curious.

The remaining hours of daylight were spent in a pleasant haze of exploration and non-intensive activity, quite unlike their normal routine and all the more appreciated for its rarity. Soon enough, the children had been called inside their houses as the sun waned and the two blondes opted to return to the inn.

The meal that night wasn't quite as lavish as the day before, but still more than two people would normally be able to eat. Naruto took care of it anyway. They did retire somewhat earlier, as the ambassador and his Leaf escorts were due to arrive in Hananoki at noon tomorrow.

It was odd then, that when they waited the next day at the allotted time in the local bar where they were supposed to meet, that the group hadn't arrived yet.

Temari was in fact rather annoyed with their tardiness. "What's keeping them?" She asked Naruto with a glare as though he might hold the answer.

Naruto lifted his shoulders briefly in a helpless gesture, munching on some dango. "I dunno."

He pitied his fellow Shinobi already. When they were finally going to arrive they were going to get an ear full from his fiancée. Naruto rotated his head from left to right and took in the forms of the other patrons. The hustle and bustle they caused inside was somewhat chaotic and created a din of noise, but the drinking establishment was not too large and they had chosen a seat near the entrance so they could be noticed immediately.

Temari glowered in her seat, viciously stabbing her own dango with the wooden poker and brought it to her mouth. She was a strong believer of punctuality, and if someone didn't bother to show up on time, it usually meant they didn't respect you enough. However, when another two hours passed, Temari's anger grew into unease. She might not have held many other ninjas in high esteem, but she couldn't believe that the team from Konoha would be this late and not have sent advance warning.

There could be a multitude of reasons, especially considering the warning from Hitoshi about missing-nin activity in the area. With that in mind, Temari made a decision on how to proceed.

"Naruto-kun, could you leave two shadow clones here while we go out and search for them?" Temari asked. "One of them could dispel itself and inform you if they arrive while we're out looking."

Naruto assented to her request and summoned one on the spot, gaining startled reactions from the other patrons. Pointing at the replica, he barked an order. "You, stay here and let me know if the group from Konoha gets here while we're gone, okay?"

"Yes sir!" The clone saluted and sat down on the chair Naruto had just vacated.

Their substitute in place, Naruto and Temari walked outside, where the girl extracted a scroll from her sash. She unfurled it with a flourish and bit her thumb before running the bleeding digit down the paper. With a poof of smoke, her large battle fan exploded into existence. Temari hefted it on her back and rolled the scroll back up, placing it inside her sash once more. She wasn't going to take any chances.

With a quick peek at the position of the sun, the two blondes gave each other a nod and dashed off to the north-east and into the forest surrounding Hananoki. After a few minutes though, they parted company to widen their search area. Naruto wanted to summon more clones, but if there were missing-nin on the prowl, Temari thought it was better to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

When he grudgingly agreed and left her to investigate her own area, Temari remained seated on her tree branch a little longer, leaning against the trunk. She shook her head in an effort to rid herself of the cobwebs that refused to vacate her mind. She'd been feeling a little dazed and under the weather since waking up, only adding to her earlier annoyance. Perhaps she hadn't slept as well as she thought, or it could just be mission related jitters. Without giving it another thought, she took off into the forest again in search of the late Konoha Genin team and the ambassador they were escorting.

She never noticed the three heads rising from the ground below, mouths covered with intricate breathing apparatuses and each displaying a slashed forehead protector. Nor did she sense them watching her departure with menacing eyes before sinking back into the dirt once more with nary a sound.

**oOoOo**

Chapter end.


End file.
